Comparative studies of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in children and adolescents

Ten patients suffering from Crohn's disease and seven children diagnosed as having Ulcerative Colitis were studied with regard to psychopathology, locus of control and several parameters of family functions. A comparison with findings from matched controls revealed higher rates of psychiatric disturbance among the clinical groups. Patients of the two groups did not differ from each other; neither in the amount nor the type of disorder. The predominating pattern was emotional disorder, which was also found in the parents' response to a behavior questionnaire. Further associations of the locus of control dimension to Crohn's disease and family functions to both diseases were found. Among clinical variables only growth retardation tended to correlate significantly with psychopathology, indicating that this consequence of the basic disease process may be more significant than other factors.