Adolescent psychosocial issues in epilepsy.

Adolescence is a period of profound biological, emotional, intellectual, and social transformation unmatched, perhaps, by any other period of life. Ideally, the individual emerges from this period with a positive self-image, a strong sense of identity, and the capacity for intimacy with peers and independence from the family (McAnarney, 1985). The adolescent with epilepsy is confronted with the additional task of adjusting to a chronic seizure condition. Epilepsy leads to problems when it interferes with the completion of developmental tasks at the proper time.