Abstract

The psychosocial adaptation of epileptics affects both the appearance of psychopathologies and the evolution of the seizures themselves. The Washington Test, an inventory designed specifically for epilepsy, was administered to three groups of epileptics. The first group was made up of subjects from the Santiago Psychiatric Institute, the second group was from the Chilean League against Epilepsy, and the third was comprised of epileptics suffering from psychotic symptoms. Test results in Chile have shown that epileptics from low socioeconomic levels have a greater incidence of social adaptation problems than those from middle and upper income levels. Chilean subjects from the middle and upper socioeconomic levels behave similarly to those from developed countries (the U.S., Canada, Germany, Finland), while those from lower income levels are poorly adapted socially. All subjects suffering psychoses are poorly adapted; there is no significant difference between subjects who experience lucid periods and those with disturbed consciousness. © 2006 Sociedad de Neurolog Psiquiatry Neurocirugbr.