01680nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001653001100042653002500053653001900078653002000097653001600117653001300133653001500146100001500161700001700176700001300193245007700206300001200283490000800295050002600303520109500329022001401424       2014                            d10aStigma10aSocioeconomic status10aSocial Support10aQuality of Life10aFelt stigma10aEpilepsy10aDepression1 aLeaffer EB1 aHesdorffer D1 aBegley C00aPsychosocial and sociodemographic associates of felt stigma in epilepsy.  a104-1090 v37C  aLEAFFER 2014 (STIGMA)3 a<p><b>BACKGROUND: </b>Lack of a sufficient range in socioeconomic status (SES) in most prior studies of felt stigma and epilepsy has hampered the ability to better understand this association.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>We assessed the burden and associates of felt stigma in 238 individuals with prevalent epilepsy aged 18 and older, comparing low SES with high SES.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Reported levels of stigma were higher in low SES than in high SES (p<0.0001), and all psychosocial variables were associated with stigma, including depression severity (p<0.0001), knowledge of epilepsy (p=0.006), quality of life (p<0.0001), social support (p<0.0001), and self-efficacy (p=0.0009). Stigma was statistically significantly associated with quality of life in the low SES group and with depression severity and social support in the high SES group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>Low SES alone did not account for felt stigma; rather, we found that quality of life, depressive symptoms, and social support have the greatest impact on reported felt stigma in individuals with prevalent epilepsy.</p>  a1525-5069