Affiliations: [a] University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA
| [b] University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| [c] Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| [d] University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Erin Moser, Rehabilitation Counseling and Sciences, Gunter 1230, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639, USA. E-mail: Erin.Moser@unco.edu.
Abstract: 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.
Keywords: Young adults, epilepsy, life satisfaction, resilience
