PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS IN JUVENILE RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

A detailed survey of 88 children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) was made in an attempt to elucidate characteristics that may participate in the etiologic mechanism. Data from a random pediatric population from the same geographic area were also included for comparisons. The most striking findings were psychosocial factors. Children whose parents were unmarried as a result of divorce, separation, or death comprised 28.4% of the JRA population, compared to 10.6% of the comparison group. In addition, adoption occurred three times more often in the JRA population. Fifty‐one percent of these events (divorce, separation, death, or adoption) occurred near the date of onset of the disease. Copyright © 1978 American College of Rheumatology