Abstracts

Rationale: The primary goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of bullying in children with epilepsy compared to their healthy and chronic disease peers. Methods: Children ages 8-16 with an estimated DQ>70 and active epilepsy were eligible for the study. Aged-matched controls included a cohort of healthy children and a cohort of children with renal disease. The following questionnaires were completed: Revised Olweus Bully/Victim, Piers-Harris II Self-Concept scale, Revised Child Manifest Anxiety Scale, Child Depression Inventory and Social Skills Rating System. In all children body mass index, parental education and socioeconomic status were documented. Epilepsy factors including age of onset, seizure frequency, seizure type and number of medications were recorded for the epilepsy cohort. Results: Children with epilepsy (n=59) were bullied more often (p<0.05) than healthy (n=42) and chronic disease controls (n=30); 42% of children with epilepsy reported being bullied (21% health controls, 28% kidney disease), and 15% reported bullying others (5% healthy controls, 11% kidney disease). Early age of seizure onset was found to be a significant predictor of victim status in those with epilepsy (p<0.05). Poor social skills, problem behaviors, poor self-concept, depression, anxiety, high body mass index and low parental education were not predictors of victim status. Conclusions: Children and teens with epilepsy are more often victims of bullying in comparison to their healthy and chronic disease peers. Since this is the first study examining bullying in children and teens with epilepsy, greater research must be conducted to further elucidate the variables that may be contributing to the large difference in prevalence. Moreover, clinicians should become more cognizant of bullying in their patients, looking for possible signs and associated physical and psychological issues. The high prevalence of bullying illustrates the need for the implementation of anti-bullying measures and coping strategies for children and teens with epilepsy.