Psychosocial effects of juvenile rheumatic disease. The family and peer systems as a context for coping

The psychosocial effects of juvenile rheumatic diseases and disease activity were examined among 24 children and their families (12 children with a rheumatic disease and 12 children with no chronic illness). Each child with rheumatic illness was paired with a healthy control child nominated by their classroom teacher. Family and child functioning was assessed through measures of competence, coping, and adjustment and through direct observation of social functioning with peers at school. Multivariate and univariate analyses were performed to examine scores on the assessment measures, percentages of time spent in peer activities, and frequency scores for types of peer interactions. The results of these analyses indicated that juvenile rheumatic disease (JRD) is not associated with detrimental psychosocial outcomes. Instead, the results indicated that JRD children and their families actively utilize multiple coping strategies. These findings stress the importance of including and examining the family and peer systems as contexts for coping in future research.