Whitfield, A., Walsh, S., Levita, L. orcid.org/0000-0001-6002-6817 et al. (1 more author) (2020) Catastrophising and repetitive negative thinking tendencies in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures or epilepsy. Seizure, 83. pp. 57-62. ISSN 1059-1311
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research suggests that catastrophisation and perseverative, or repetitive negative thinking (RNT) could play an important role in the aetiology of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES). This study was designed to explore whether these cognitive tendencies are more prevalent in patients with PNES than those with epilepsy and to examine the relationship between these cognitions, depression, anxiety, seizure frequency and diagnosis.
Methods
26 patients with PNES (PWPNES) and 29 with epilepsy (PWE) self-reported RNT (Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire), catastrophisation tendencies (modified Safety Behaviors and Catastrophizing Scale), symptoms of anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment 7) and depression (Primary Health Questionnaire 9) as well as seizure frequency.
Results
RNT and catastrophic thinking were highly correlated with each other and more prevalent in PWPNES than PWE. Positive correlations were also found between all other self-report measures and seizure frequency. The PNES diagnosis predicted RNT (perseverative thinking) independently of catastrophic thinking, anxiety, depression and seizure frequency.
Conclusion
PWPNES exhibit greater negative perseverative and catastrophising cognitive tendencies than PWE. PNES as a diagnosis independently predicted RNT. Hence, RNT and catastrophisation should be considered as possible specific targets for psychological interventions in patients with PNES.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 British Epilepsy Association. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Seizure. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures; Epilepsy; Repetitive negative thinking; Catastrophising; Dissociative seizures |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Oct 2020 10:09 |
Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.seizure.2020.09.034 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:167398 |