title: The social competence and behavioral problem substrate of new- and recent-onset childhood epilepsy.
abstract: This study examined patterns of syndrome-specific problems in behavior and competence in children with new- or recent-onset epilepsy compared with healthy controls. Research participants consisted of 205 children aged 8-18, including youth with recent-onset epilepsy (n=125, 64 localization-related epilepsy [LRE] and 61 idiopathic generalized epilepsy [IGE]) and healthy first-degree cousin controls (n=80). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist for children aged 6-18 (CBCL/6-18) from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). Dependent variables included Total Competence, Total Problems, Total Internalizing, Total Externalizing, and Other Problems scales. Comparisons of children with LRE and IGE with healthy controls were examined followed by comparisons of healthy controls with those having specific epilepsy syndromes of LRE (BECTS, Frontal/Temporal Lobe, and Focal NOS) and IGE (Absence, Juvenile Myoclonic, and IGE NOS). Children with LRE and/or IGE differed significantly (p<0.05) from healthy controls, but did not differ from each other, across measures of behavior (Total Problems, Total Internalizing, Total Externalizing, and Other Problems including Thought and Attention Problems) or competence (Total Competence including School and Social). Similarly, children with specific syndromes of LRE and IGE differed significantly (p<0.05) from controls across measures of behavior (Total Problems, Total Internalizing, and Other Problems including Attention Problems) and competence (Total Competence including School). Only on the Thought Problems scale were there syndrome differences. In conclusion, children with recent-onset epilepsy present with significant behavioral problems and lower competence compared with controls, with little syndrome specificity whether defined broadly (LRE and IGE) or narrowly (specific syndromes of LRE and IGE).
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. Electronic address: almane@neurology.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Dace
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Almane
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Jana E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Daren C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rosalind Franklin School of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seidenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Hermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000523:psychology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Behavior; CBCL; Children; Epilepsy