Childhood-Onset Bipolar Disorder

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses bipolar disorder, a serious mood disorder that involves shifts in mood between depression and mania. In particular, it looks at the extent to which heredity plays a role in the development of bipolar disorder and whether physiological or behavioral markers exist that may indicate high risk among children or early onset of bipolar disorder. It also examines how diagnostic criteria and treatment interventions used successfully with adults may also be effective with children at risk for the development of this serious disorder.

From the Paper:

"Children of bipolar parents have been found to be more at risk for developing the disorder. A study by Egeland et al. (2003) investigated the differences in frequency and pattern of clinical features prodromal for bipolar disorder in well Amish children with a bipolar parent versus children of well parents. The results indicated that 38% of the children of bipolar parent were rated as at risk compared with 17% of children in the control sample, and those children in the control sample with risk ratings mostly had well parents with a bipolar sibling. Children with families that had no mental illness rarely even received a low risk rating. These findings provide evidence for a hereditary link in bipolar disorder that extends beyond immediate family."

More papers on Childhood-Onset Bipolar Disorder:

• Persuasive Essay # 124592 : "Diagnosing Childhood Mental Disorders"
• Essay # 7328 : "Anxiety Disorders and Bipolar Disorder"
• Analytical Essay # 138310 : "Bipolar Disorder"

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