Comparison of Resilience and Depression in Children and Adolescents with Epilepsy and Healthy Controls

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the depression and resilience scores of children and adolescents with epilepsy and healthy controls. Furthermore, its purpose was to investigate whether resilience mediates the relationship between epilepsy and depression. Methods: 100 children and adolescents (46 patients and 54 healthy controls) were included in the study. Questionnaire on sociodemographic data was administered to the all participants at the time of application to our center and all participants were asked to complete the Anxiety and Depression Scale in Children-Revised (RCADS-CV) and Child and Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale (CYRM-12). Results: 46 epilepsy patients had higher RCADS-CV depression scores (P=0.008) and lower psychological resilience scores (P= 0.001) compared to the control group. Although there was a negative correlation between psychological resilience scores and RCADS-CV depression scores in epilepsy patients and the control group, this correlation was not statistically significant. Conclusion: We found that children and adolescents with epilepsy had lower psychological resilience and higher depression symptoms compared to healthy controls.