Self-compassion and coping in adolescents living with epilepsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Self-compassion and coping in adolescents living with epilepsy
IRAS ID
266833
Contact name
Melissa Longworth
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Epilepsy is a condition affecting 1 in every 220 young people in the UK, with one third of cases beginning before the age of 20 years. Adolescence alone involves physical, academic and social pressures. These challenges, alongside managing a condition like epilepsy can be difficult for a person to tolerate, often meaning they may struggle with low mood as well as having a poorer quality of life. \n\nEpilepsy has been found to have a more negative impact on young people than other conditions, What can make this worse is the coping strategies used to manage difficult experiences. Self-compassion, which is being kind to oneself during difficult times, promotes helpful coping such as more positive thought restructuring and less avoidance. High self-compassion in adolescents generally has been linked to better psychological and physical outcomes, and lower rates of depression. However, less is known about how self-compassion is linked to, and perhaps underpins, coping in adolescent, chronic illness populations. \n\nThis study will aim to explore self-compassion and coping in an adolescent epilepsy population (i.e. 13-18 years), recruited from a tertiary service within a local hospital service. This will involve young people who have their care monitored by a specialist consultant, and thus given the complexity and the impact of their epilepsy, may be those most likely to rely on coping strategies. They will be recruited through routine clinic appointments and from an internal clinical database search completed by a member of the clinical team. It is hoped between 6-12 young people will be recruited, with interviews lasting approximately 60 minutes in a location convenient for the individual. These will involve open-ended questions to explore experiences, with data being subsequently analysed to develop common themes. Findings will be shared formally and informally to help understanding and shape practice as much as possible.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/YH/0308
Date of REC Opinion
17 Sep 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion