As part of a longitudinal project based on a biopsychosocial model of juvenile rheumatic diseases, maternal mental distress was examined as a possible predisposing factor for the child's disease and/or as an effect of disease. Eighty-four mothers were interviewed and completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Child Behavior Checklist. Fifty percent of the mothers reported psychiatric distress as indicated by GHQ ± 4. Trait anxiety of the mother (measuring stable personality characteristics) was unrelated to disease variables but was associated with psychosocial background variables [maternal childhood environment (CES) (r= −0.42,p< 0.01), chronic family difficulties (r= 0.41,p< 0.01)], and stressful life events (r= 0.41,p< 0.01), State anxiety was associated with number of affected joints of the child (r= 0.33,p< 0.01). At this early stage of the disease course (median duration 7 months) findings did not confirm the hypothesis that the psychosocial background factors were related to disease parameters or to severity.