Abstracts

In recent years, increasing interest in the emotional experience of patients with seizure disorders has stimulated investigation of various emotional states. Considerable emphasis has been placed on the study of depression and anxiety. Of the studies available, relatively few, if any, have investigaged the construct of anger among patiens with seizures. Although previous studies have examined differences between patients with spileptic seizures (ES) and patients with Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), the emphasis has been on the assessment of depression and anxiety. The primary goal of this preliminary study was to examine the experience, expression and control of anger in patients with seizures utilizing the most widely researched, standardized and validated Anger measure that utilized in behavioral health settings, the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2). A secondary goal of the study was to compare Anger measures of patients with ES and PNES., Subjects were drawn from a series of adult patients referred for long-term video EEG monitoring as part of a comprehensive evaluation for refractory seizures at the USF College of Medicine - Tampa General Hospital Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. Patients with a definitive diagnosis of either ES or PNES as determined by EEG video Monitoring were included. Only those patients that did not complete the STAXI-2 were excluded., Patients with ES and PNES have higher Trait Anger scores and higher Anger Expression scores than those of the normative sample. Patients with PNES have higher Trait Anger Reaction and Anger-In scores than patients with ES or the normative sample., The findings of the preliminary study suggest that there are significant differences in the way patients with seizures experience and express anger. Further, there are differences between patients with ES and PNES. These findings suggest that the STAXI-2 successfully differentiates ES patients from PNES patients in terms of their suppression and expression of anger. Future research is needed to investigate how different types of epilepsy patients experience anger, how it motivates their behavior and impacts their health. The implications for psychotherapeutic intervention and treatment planning should be explored.,