Maladaptive emotional regulation in patients diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) compared with healthy volunteers

•This study compares Czech patients with PNES to healthy controls on emotional regulation.•Patients with PNES had significant emotion regulation impairments compared to controls.•Patients with PNES exhibited a lack of awareness or inattention to emotional responses.•These findings are significant for the design of treatment approaches for those with PNES. The term PNES refers to a conversion disorder that mimics epileptic seizures but has a psychological etiology. Recent studies report that in patients with PNES, there is reduced understanding of emotions, impulse control difficulties, and limited access to emotional regulation strategies. The aim of this study was to compare patients diagnosed with PNES with healthy volunteers on the presence of maladaptive emotional regulation. Patients (N = 64 F:M 52:12; mean age 35.5 years; duration ≥ 2 years) were assessed while inpatients at the Epilepsy Center, Na Homolce Hospital, Prague. PNES diagnosis was based on normal EEG findings, habitual seizure capture, suggestive seizure provocation, neuropsychological assessment and patients´ history. The clinical sample was compared with healthy volunteers (N = 64 F:M 52:12; mean age 35.8 years). The presence of maladaptive emotional regulation was assessed through the Czech research version of the ASQ and DERS. Compared with a healthy sample, patients with PNES had greater emotion regulation impairments across nearly all dimensions of the DERS - Nonacceptance = 17.0 (M = 14.5), p = 0.006, Goals = 16.0 (M = 11.5), p