The influence of attachment style and relationship quality on quality of life and psychological distress in carers of people with epileptic and nonepileptic seizures

Publication date: April 2019Source: Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 93Author(s): Alistair Wardrope, Becky Green, Paul Norman, Markus ReuberAbstractBackgroundSeizure disorders affect not only the individual living with seizures, but also those caring for them. Carer–patient relationships may be influenced by, and have an influence on, some aspects of living with seizure disorders — with potentially different interactions seen in epilepsy and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES).ObjectivesWe studied the influence of patient and carer attachment style and relationship quality on carer wellbeing and psychological distress, and explored whether these associations differ between carers for people with epilepsy and for those with PNES.MethodsConsecutive adult patients with epilepsy (N = 66) and PNES (N = 16) and their primary informal carers completed questionnaires about relationship quality, attachment style, and psychopathological symptom burden. We used correlation analysis to identify associations between relationship quality, attachment style, and carer depression, anxiety, and wellbeing; and to explore differences in these associations between carers for people with epilepsy and for those with PNES.ResultsOverall, 25.3% of carers for people with epilepsy or PNES had scores above the clinical cutoff for depression and 39.6% for anxiety; significantly more carers for people with PNES reported clinically significant depression (47.1% vs. 20.0%), but there was no diff...
Source: Epilepsy and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research