Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic conditions in children. Earlier studies have demonstrated both neurocognitive impairment and behavioral problems in school-aged children with epilepsy. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate neurocognitive functions and social competence in preschool-aged children with epilepsy to find out whether these problems were already present at younger ages.

This dissertation is a population based cohort study of neurocognitive functions and social competence in preschool-aged (i.e. three to six years old) children with epilepsy (N = 64). The results indicated neurocognitive impairments, mental retardation or severe learning disabilities in half of the cohort. These impairments were typically seen in children with complicated epilepsy, i.e. those with underlying central nervous system pathology or additional neurologic conditions. Specific neurocognitive problems in language, verbal-short-term memory, and attention were also found in children with uncomplicated epilepsy. In addition to neurocognitive problems, preschool-aged children with epilepsy had weaker social competence compared to their healthy peers. Poorer social competence reported by parents was demonstrated in poorer social skills and more frequent behavior problems (especially internalizing problems).

A review of earlier studies on social competence indicated that social competence was not usually defined or problematized. The studies reviewed mostly focused on social adjustment and demonstrated problems in this area in school-aged children with epilepsy. However, not all aspects of social competence have been studied. Therefore, more studies on social skills and performance are needed to increase our understanding of social competence among children with epilepsy. Also, future studies should address the role of epilepsy-related factors and neurocognitive functions as mediating factors for social competence.