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Predictors of Social Functioning in Adolescents with Pediatric Epilepsy
Abstract
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder, known for the brain’s predisposition to generate seizures,
that affects children and adults of all ages. Epilepsy is recognized as one of the most prevalent
neurological disorders found in children internationally and is characterized by social,
psychological, neurobiological, and cognitive deficits. This research aims to identify the
influence neuropsychological and epilepsy-related factors have on the overall social functioning
in a pediatric epilepsy population to better inform health care providers of potential risk factors
for poorer social functioning outcomes, as well as the role depression, a known comorbidity of
epilepsy, may play in regard to the patient’s social functioning. Using a de-identified dataset for
44 participants, ranging in age from 10 to 16 years 11 months, this study furthered the
exploration of epilepsy-related variables (age of onset, number of AEDs, duration), cognitive
variables (processing speed, working memory) and level of depressive symptoms in predicting
social functioning. Clinically significant and at-risk scores were observed in a combined 22% of
the sample for Depression and 18% of the sample for Social Functioning. Depression was
significantly predicted by two variables (number of AEDs and processing speed). There were no
significant predictors of social functioning. Depression had a significant moderation effect on the
effect of processing speed standard scores on social functioning. These findings highlight the
importance of research identifying risk factors with greater specificity for poorer outcomes
relating to quality of life in pediatric epilepsy patients. It also highlights the potential utility of
knowing a patient’s use of AEDs for long-term treatment and the presence of low processing
speed skills in order to identify possible risk of depressive symptoms.
Citation
Jimenez, Emily Machelle (2022). Predictors of Social Functioning in Adolescents with Pediatric Epilepsy. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /197774.