A REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT TO IMPAIRMENT AMONG PERSONS WITH EPILEPSY

This review begins with a general discussion of the concept of psychosocial adjustment to impairment among persons with epilepsy. The research literature is then reviewed in three areas: (a) research subsuming adjustment within the domain of psychopathology, (b) research focusing on specific psychosocial reactions, and (c) investigations of the characteristics associated with adjustment (e.g., age at onset, seizure type and frequency, societal attitudes). The next sections review the research concerning (a) comparison of adjustment to epilepsy with adjustment to other impairments (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, closed head injury), (b) the roots of the poor psychosocial adjustment among persons with epilepsy, and (c) two measures of adjustment specific to epilepsy. Research problems identified in this review are then listed and suggestions for future investigations provided.