The psychological costs of comparisons: Parents' social comparison moderates the links between family management of epilepsy and children's outcomes

- Children with epilepsy are at increased risk of poor adaptation outcomes (poor HRQoL and higher perceived stigma);
- Parents are key figures in how epilepsy is managed within the family and how their child understands and copes with epilepsy;
- Parents high in social comparison orientation (SCO) are more prone to search comparative information from fellow families;
- Results suggest that children whose parents are high in SCO may be at particular risk for poor adaptation outcomes;
- Future psychosocial interventions should target parents' SCO and its interactions with family management of epilepsy.

Parents play a key role in how children deal with epilepsy. When diagnosed with health conditions, people seek comparison information from fellow patients and families, and this information has consequences for how they evaluate their situation. This study examined the moderating role of parents' social comparison orientation in the associations between family management (parental perceptions of family life difficulties and child's daily life) and adaptation outcomes of children with epilepsy (HRQoL and perceived stigma). Participants included 201 dyads of children with epilepsy and either their mother or father. The results showed that when parents perceived higher difficulties managing their child's epilepsy and/or reported that their child was more affected by this condition, children reported higher perceived stigma and worse HRQoL only when parents had a higher social comparison orientation. Our results are innovative in showing that when parents have a higher social comparison orientation, their children may be at increased risk of poorer outcomes.