Mothers of children with recent onset of rheumatic disease: associations between maternal distress, psychosocial variables, and the disease of the children.

As part of a longitudinal project based on a biopsychosocial model of juvenile rheumatic diseases, maternal mental distress was examined as a possible predisposing factor for the child's disease and/or as an effect of disease. Eighty-four mothers were interviewed and completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Child Behavior Checklist. Fifty percent of the mothers reported psychiatric distress as indicated by GHQ greater than or equal to 4. Trait anxiety of the mother (measuring stable personality characteristics) was unrelated to disease variables but was associated with psychosocial background variables [maternal childhood environment (CES) (r = -0.42, p less than 0.01), chronic family difficulties (r = 0.41, p less than 0.01)], and stressful life events (r = 0.41, p less than 0.01). State anxiety was associated with number of affected joints of the child (r = 0.33, p less than 0.01). At this early stage of the disease course (median duration 7 months) findings did not confirm the hypothesis that the psychosocial background factors were related to disease parameters or to severity.