Finch and Hess review the literature concerning idiopathic ulcerative colitis in children, adding the results of their study of seventeen of them with this condition. They were unable to garner any clues as to why these children had developed ulcerative colitis, since no specific factors could be found in their psychological development. The authors present a speculative hypothesis regarding etiology built on constitutional predisposition. They then posit a mother seeking, perhaps unconsciously, the destruction or ill health of the child, and leading to what is termed a negative symbiotic relationship. The suppressed rage of the child in his struggle toward autonomy leads to the development of the symptom, and this may serve as a compromise for the child, the mother, and the rest of the family.