Epilepsy and Learned Helplessness

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Abstract
The close parallel between the natural history of seizure disorders and laboratory procedures for inducing learned helplessness is noted. Additionally, it is argued that examining the relationship between epilepsy and learned helplessness can increase our understanding of both phenomena. A group of 289 individuals with epilepsy was surveyed via a questionnaire assessing several parameters of their seizure disorders, general and health-specific locus of control, and depression. Depression and locus-of-control variables are conceptualized as indexes of learned helplessness. Regression analyses indicate that theoretically relevant dimensions of seizure disorders (including the perceived controllability/predictability of seizures, severity of seizures, and extent of exposure to having seizures) account for significant proportions of the variance in the helplessness indexes. It is concluded that, despite the modest proportions of variance explained, the general pattern of statistically significant and theoretically compatible findings of the present study justify further research into the epilepsy-helplessness parallel.