The objective was to describe the premorbid state of migraine with juvenile onset. Thirty subjects with migraine and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled in a case-control study. A structured questionnaire (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) was administered to the mothers and ratings were obtained for the past two age periods (0-3 and 4-6 years) and for the present state. CBCL scores of the migraine group (MG) were compared to those of the control group (CG) during the three periods. A longitudinal study was performed to evaluate the evolution of psychopathology comparing CBCL scores of MG in the three age periods. During the premorbid period MG showed significantly higher mean scores on total, internalising, anxious-depressive scales. In the longitudinal perspective, internalising traits were present in the premorbid period in MG. Children later diagnosed as having migraine differ from CG in several scales during different age periods. Migraine could be considered as the expression of a previous vulnerability.