Abstract

MENDES, Teresa  and  CRESPO, Carla. Individual and family adaptation in pediatric epilepsy: an empirical and conceptual review. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2014, vol.15, n.2, pp.314-334. ISSN 1645-0086.

Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in pediatric age, impacting not only the child’s life, but the whole family. In recent decades, there has been an increasing interest in the explanatory processes of individual and family adaptation in pediatric epilepsy. Research in this area is very diverse, and mostly marked by the absence of theoretical frameworks guiding the integration of the data into a larger body of knowledge. This article aims to organize the main findings in this area by applying the socioecological framework to the context of pediatric epilepsy (Kazak, 1989; Kazak et al., 2009). First, examples of conceptual models of family-disease relationships are presented, followed by the main systemic levels from family and disease microsystems, to mesossystems (links with educational and health systems), exosystem (community social support networks) and macrosystem (cultural beliefs and social stigma). At the end, critical considerations around key methodological issues, as well as opportunities for future research are discussed.

Keywords : pediatric epilepsy; adaptation; family; socioecological model; review.

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