The Role of Psychological and Social Factors in the Onset of Somatic Illness in Children

In an exploratory study, the recent life experiences of 42 ill children and 45 children who were well were compared to determine the role of psychological and social factors in the onset of "somatic " disease. The families with ill children were more disorganized and, during the 6-month period under study, exposed these children to a greater number of changes in the psychological and social aspects of their lives. These changes were inherently more threatening and tended to have greater disruptive impact than those experienced by the comparison group. These findings supported a multifactorial concept of disease, as that concept implicates psychological and social as well as biological factors. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that changes in the psychosocial setting inter-acting with the psychological and social organization of the child and his family are relevant to the onset of somatic illness in children. To comprehend more fully the findings and their implications, a theoretical model was developed. I H I S REPORT will examine the role of Child psychiatrists and pediatricians psychological and social factors in the have had extensive opportunity to ob-onset of "somatic " illness in young chil- serve the role of illness in the lives of dren, focusing on data obtained in an children. The child psychiatrist derives exploratory study of hospitalized latency- his observations from episodes of illness aged boys and girls. occurring during the course of psycho-therapy as well as from consultation i