Conversational displays of coping resources in clinical encounters between patients with epilepsy and neurologists: A pilot study

How people with epilepsy (PWE) cope is an important determinant of their resilience to seizures. More adaptive ways of coping are an independent predictor of health-related quality of life. Coping styles have typically been assessed using self-report questionnaires. However, such questionnaires fail to capture the complexity of the phenomenon of coping. This study explores whether close examination of the interactional and linguistic resources used by PWE can be used to enhance our understanding of coping behavior as it naturally emerges in semistructured, first clinical encounters between patients with refractory epilepsy and a neurologist. At a more superficial (topical) level of analysis, our examination of nine interactions reveals that PWE tend to present themselves as resourceful individuals who are in control of their disorder (which thereby becomes less significant). In contrast, the analysis of more subtle linguistic and interactional features indicates that some PWE actually find their disorder quite difficult to deal with.