Comparison of mental health, self-esteem and aggression in epilepsy and normal pupils

Introduction: Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease among the general population. Usually this disease appears before puberty, and will continue and it can combine with behavioral or psychological symptoms. Epilepsy can affect mental health, self-esteem and aggression of pupils suffers from epilepsy. Methods: This is a descriptive study, in which 24, 12 to 18 years old pupils with epilepsy were matched with 24 normal pupils. The subjects were not informed of their selection and the aim of this study. The General Health, Rosenberg self-esteem Scale and Ahwaz Aggression Questionnaires in both groups were administered individually. For analyzing the data, MANOVA statistical method was used. Results: The results showed that there are significant differences between the pupils with epilepsy and non-epileptic puplis in the mental health and self-esteem scores (P<0.01). So, puplis with epilepsy in terms of mental health and self-esteem were poorer and more in dire situation. Conclusion: The risk of epileptic seizures can reduce adolescent mental health and self-esteem. It seems that adolescences need more attention in mental health aspects