Last modified: 2014-04-03
Abstract
Introduction: Multiple epilepsy and sleep related variables have been explored in order to elucidate the complex relationship between the two. We aimed to explore the extent to which epilepsy severity, gender, and self-regulation concepts (illness perceptions, autonomous treatment regulation, perceived autonomy support by parents) predict sleep problems in adolescents with epilepsy.
Methods: N=100 adolescents (Mage=13. 9, SD=2.21, 59% boys). The Brief Ilnness Questionnaire, the Treatment Self- Regulation Questionnaire, the Perceptions of Parents Scales and the Athens Insomnia Scale were administered; multiple hierarchical regression analysis (5 models) was conducted.
Results: Most patients (91%) were well controlled on anticonvulsanta; 6 % were pharmacoresistant; 3% had infrequent seizures. In model 1, gender significantly predicted sleep problems (R2=0.039, adjusted R2=0.029, F=3.955, df=1, P<0.05). Adding epilepsy severity to the regression (model 2: R2=0.041, adjusted R2=0.021, F=2.066, df=2, n.s.), the illness perceptions (model 3: R2=0.238, adjusted R2=0.189, F=4.844, df=6, P<0.001), the autonomous treatment regulation (model 4: R2=0.239, adjusted R2=0.181, F=4.121, df=7, P<0.001), and patients’ autonomy support (model 5: R2=0.240, adjusted R2=0.173, F=3.583, df=8, P<0.001), a significant increase in explained variance occurred.
Conclusions: At a univariate level being a girl, having less severe epilepsy, expecting more consequences from epilepsy, believing that the disease will last longer, experiencing the symptoms intensely, being more concerned about epilepsy, regulating less autonomously the treatment and perceiving more autonomy support by parents were significantly associated with more sleep problems. However, at a multivariate level when the influence of consequences was taken into account all other relations vanished.