Table 1 Medical and socio-demographic characteristics of study sample
variable | psychosomatic patients (n = 25) | patients with asthma bronchiale (n = 25) |
|---|---|---|
specific diagnoses (ICD-10/DSM-IV) | 2 somatization disorder (F45.0/300.81) | 25 asthma bronchiale (J45.x/n.a.) |
| Â | 4 undiff. somatization disorder (F45.1/300.81) | Â |
| Â | 6 somatoform autonomous dysfunction (F45.3/300.81) | Â |
| Â | 13 persistent pain disorder (F45.4/300.80 or 300.89) | Â |
duration of disease | 5 <6 months | (1 no information) |
|  | 13 6–24 months | 4 6–24 months |
| Â | 7 >24 months | 20 >24 months |
patients' age (years) | mean = 12.8, SD = 2.9, range 8–18 | mean = 11.4, SD = 2.6, range 8–16 |
patients' gender | 18 female, 7 male | 13 female, 12 male |
absence from school (days/year) | mean = 23.0, SD = 29.7, range 0–130 | mean = 10.3, SD = 18.7, range 0–80 |
socio-economic status (vocation) | 7 low, 17 medium, 1 high | 4 low, 21 medium |
family constellation | 21 complete | 17 complete |
| Â | 2 stepfamilies | 2 stepfamilies |
| Â | 2 single parent families | 4 single parent families |