1. Temperament and character factors in Korean children with seizure disorders.
- Author
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Park S, Yoo HK, Kim JY, Jeon J, Choi SH, Wang HR, and Sung Ko T
- Subjects
- Age Factors, Ambulatory Care, Child, Child Behavior psychology, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Korea epidemiology, Male, Parents psychology, Social Class, Surveys and Questionnaires, Character, Epilepsy diagnosis, Epilepsy epidemiology, Personality Inventory statistics & numerical data, Temperament classification
- Abstract
Although the organic and psychosocial consequences of seizure disorders are thought to affect temperament and character patterns, these patterns in children with seizure disorders have not yet been investigated. We therefore investigated temperament and character patterns in Korean children with seizure disorders and their associations with seizure-related variables. The Korean version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory was used to assess temperament and character factors of 65 children with seizure disorders (32 boys, 33 girls; mean age, 10.6 +/- 1.8 years) and 65 healthy controls matched for age and sex. Children with seizure disorders showed higher harm avoidance, and lower persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness than controls. In children with seizure disorders, character factors such as self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence were significantly associated with seizure type, and cooperativeness was correlated with seizure severity. Novelty seeking and self-directedness were correlated with paternal educational level and parental economic status, respectively. These findings suggest that children with seizure disorders have distinctive temperament and character patterns, with seizure type being the most influential factor modulating character patterns.
- Published
- 2007
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