SOCIAL SUPPORT AND EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT IN PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC EPILEPSY

People with epilepsy have been consistently shown to have high rates o f emotional problems. A variety of psychosocial variables has been pro posed attempting to account for these difficulties. However, one such variable-social support-has tended to be overlooked. This study attemp ts to rectify this and investigates the effect of social support, in a number of different guises, on emotional adjustment in people with ep ilepsy. Sixty-five subjects completed a number of social support and e motional adjustment questionnaires. The results suggested that perceiv ed support from both family and friends were factors in emotional adju stment, even when putative influential factors were considered. This s tudy further emphasizes the multifaceted nature of emotional adjustmen t in people with epilepsy and suggests that social support should be c onsidered when further investigating this area.