Continued Stigma Associated with Epilepsy

Despite advances in knowledge about epilepsy, both the general public and patients themselves continue to hold negative and potentially harmful beliefs about the condition.

Bandstra and colleagues review the evidence for a social stigma, defined in part as “undesired differentness,” affecting people with epilepsy (PWE). They describe the nature and prevalence of negative beliefs about these individuals and their condition.

For example, 20% or more of respondents to U.S. and Canadian surveys conducted within the past 10 years believed that epilepsy is a form of mental illness; that PWE have more personality problems than do others; and that violence is a common seizure manifestation. The authors provide some evidence of a decrease in such beliefs over the past decades. For example, 24% of respondents in 1949 objected to their children’s associating with PWE; this proportion decreased to 6% in 1979. Consequences …

Reviewing Author

Edward B. Bromfield, MD