Psychosomatic Medicine 24:148-156 (1962)
© 1962 American Psychosomatic Society

Ulcerative Colitis in an Adolescent Boy Subjected to a Homosexual Assault

Report of a Case

¹ Psychiatric Service, Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, Calif., and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Calif.

The case is presented of a 14-year-old boy who was afflicted with ulcerative colitis following a homosexual attack and series of events in which he was inflexibly disciplined and sharply coerced. The patient's predicament is discussed primarily in terms of the dynamics of his obsessive-compulsive character structure and the problem of rebellion versus compliance which appears to have been of fundamental importance.

With reference to the literature, the suggestion is made that the problem of rebellion versus compliance may be of more general significance in patients with ulcerative colitis than is commonly realized. Some theoretical speculations are offered in an attempt to account for the clinical observation that ulcerative colitis is a rarity among overt homosexuals.