Abstracts

Children with new onset seizures (NOSz) have more emotional and behavioral problems compared to siblings and classmates. Family psychiatric history is a significant risk factor for child psychopathology. Mothers of children with epilepsy have been reported to experience more psychopathology, however it has not been investigated when these problems begin. It is not known if children with NOSz have parents with higher levels of psychopathology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between psychopathology in children with NOSz and their parents. In a cross-sectional study we evaluated 30 cognitively normal children with NOSz (17girls, 13 boys), aged 5 to 15 years (mean age 9.3 [plusmn] 2.4 y) and their parents (30 mothers, 17 fathers). Data were collected within 1 month of the NOSz diagnosis confirmed by a pediatric epileptologist. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher Report Form (TRF) were used to evaluate children[rsquo]s emotional and behavioral problems. Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) was administered to assess parental psychopathology. Spearman[rsquo]s correlation was used to examine the relationship between the child scores on CBCL and parent scores on SCL-90-R. In a sample of children with NOSz, 13% had elevated scores (T[ge]63) for Total and 20% for Internalizing CBCL problems. Although more fathers (12%) than mothers (10%) had increased psychopathology (T[ge]63) on SCL-90-R, this may be due to the smaller number of fathers participating in the study. CBCL Total (r = .44, p = .02), Internalizing (r = .45, p[lt].01) and Externalizing (r = .43, p= .02) problem scores were significantly correlated with general maternal psychopathology, but not with paternal psychopathology( p = .23; p = .32; p = .26). Higher CBCL Internalizing problem scores were significantly correlated with maternal depression, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, paranoid ideation, and Global Severity Index (all p[lt].05). Although preliminary, these findings imply that psychiatric problems in children with NOSz are associated with maternal, but not with paternal psychopathology. Mothers with higher level of psychological distress reported more psychopathology in children compared to mothers with lower levels of psychological distress. (Supported by Eli Lilly and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)