The relationship between psychological distress and knowledge of disease among hemophilia patients and their families: a pilot study.

As part of a large scale, comprehensive study of the psychosocial functioning of hemophilic patients and their families, 12 pilot families were assessed using objective measures of psychiatric symptomatology and general knowledge of hemophilia. Although the small number of subjects in this pilot study precludes any detailed statistical analyses, some preliminary findings are presented concerning the level of psychological distress reported by patients and their family members and the subjects' level of general knowledge about hemophilia. Of most interest was the presence of significant negative correlations between knowledge of hemophilia and extent of self-reported psychological distress for mothers and patients under 15 yr of age. Maintenance of this relationship with a larger sample would have important implications for patient and family education.