Resilience and life satisfaction in young adults with epilepsy: The role of person-environment contextual factors

BACKGROUND: Transition from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 18- 35 years) can be particularly difficult for people with epilepsy as they have to cope with stressors and challenges associated with independent living, postsecondary education, healthcare, social relationships, and employment. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate constructs based on Kumpfer's resilience framework model as predictors of life satisfaction in young adults with epilepsy. METHOD: 194 young adults with epilepsy participated in the present study. A hierarchical regression analysis (HRA) was conducted to answer the research questions. RESULTS: HRA results indicated that variables in Kumpfer's resilience framework model significantly predicted life satisfaction of young adults with epilepsy, R²=0.71, f²=2.45, which is a very large effect size. Family support, friends support, secure attachment, core self-evaluations, and trait resilience were found to contribute significantly to the variation in life satisfaction scores after controlling for the effect of other variables in the HRA model. CONCLUSION: Findings of the present study strongly support the validity of Kumpfer's (1999) resilience framework model, particularly the important roles of person-environment factors in predicting life satisfaction of young adults with epilepsy. This model approach to defining resilience can be used by rehabilitation counselors in case conceptualization, assessment, planning, and counseling.