Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-16-2024
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Stigma is a pervasive barrier for people living with epilepsy (PLWE) and can have substantial negative effects. This study evaluated clinical correlates of perceived stigma in a research sample of PLWE considered to be at high risk due to frequent seizures or other negative health events. Methods: Analyses were derived from baseline data from an ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing an epilepsy self-management approach. Standardized measures assessed socio-demographics, perceived epilepsy stigma, epilepsy-related self-efficacy, epilepsy self-management competency, health literacy, depressive symptom severity, functional status, social support and epilepsy-related quality of life. Results: There were 160 individuals, mean age of 39.4, (Standard deviation/SD=12.2) enrolled in the RCT, 107 (66.9 %) women, with a mean age of epilepsy onset of 23.9 (SD 14.0) years. The mean seizure frequency in the prior 30 days was 6.4 (SD 21.2). Individual factors correlated with worse perceived stigma were not being married or cohabiting with someone (p = 0.016), lower social support (p < 0.0001), lower self-efficacy (p < 0.0001), and lower functional status for both physical health (p = 0.018) and mental health (p < 0.0001). Perceived stigma was associated with worse depressive symptom severity (p < 0.0001). Multivariable linear regression found significant independent associations between stigma and lower self-efficacy (β −0.05; p = 0.0096), lower social support (β −0.27; p = 2.4x10-5, and greater depression severity (β 0.6; p = 5.8x10-5). Conclusions: Perceived epilepsy stigma was positively correlated with depression severity and negatively correlated with social support and self-efficacy. Providers caring for PLWE may help reduce epilepsy stigma by screening for and treating depression, encouraging supportive social relationships, and providing epilepsy self-management support. Awareness of epilepsy stigma and associated factors may help reduce some of the hidden burden borne by PLWE.
Keywords
depression, epilepsy, quality of life, seizures, stigma
Language
English
Publication Title
Epilepsy and Behavior
Rights
© The Author(s) 2024. This is an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Sajatovic, Martha; Sajatovic, Martha; Black, Jessica; Krehel-Montgomery, Jacqueline; McDermott, Grace; Yala, Joy; Barigye, Richard; Adeniyi, Clara; and Briggs, Farren, "Clinical Correlates of Perceived Stigma Among People Living with Epilepsy Enrolled in a Self-Management Clinical Trial" (2024). Faculty Scholarship. 1059.
https://commons.case.edu/facultyworks/1059
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Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Psychiatry Commons, Psychiatry and Psychology Commons
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version