A research base should be of mental health and coping strategies in families of having patient with epilepsy, in Iran.

These families are at increased risk of stress and weakened family relationship, and to identify the variables that have a negative impact on a families and possible moderating influences on them.

This research was a descriptive study on 150 families of epileptics referring to the Iranian Association of Epilepsy Selected Using a Systematic sampling. All subjects were living with the epileptic person, were at least 16, all Iranian and it was at least six month after the beginning of the family’ epileptic members’ illness. For obtaining further information, a questionnaire consisting of three parts was used. The first part indicated the demographic specifications of the patient's family, the second part showed the General Health Questionnaires (GHQ), and the third part indicated stress coping strategies carversheier- weinrub questionnaires.

According to the acquired screen in the total mental health score, the majority of the epileptic patients’ family (56/7%) were not in an appropriate mental health condition. In this report contains depression (56/7%), social functional disorder (52%) somatic signs (61/3%) and anxiety and sleep disorder (6/7%). The majority of under research units based on acquired scores of general stress coping strategies, used this strategies in a medium level.

The result is that if there is more mental health in the family of the epileptic patient, they will use stress coping strategies in more suitable level.