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Temperament characteristics of child and adolescent bipolar offspring

Kiki D Chang1, Christine M Blasey, Terence A Ketter

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child Psychiatry and Child Development, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5719, USA. kchang88@stanford.edu

Journal of Affective Disorders
|October 11, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Children at high risk for bipolar disorder (BD) show distinct temperament profiles. Temperament assessment may help predict psychopathology development in these youth.

Area of Science:

  • Child psychiatry
  • Developmental psychology
  • Behavioral genetics

Background:

  • Children with a high risk for bipolar disorder (BD) require characterization of their temperament.
  • Understanding temperament can offer insights into early markers of psychopathology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the temperament of children at high risk for bipolar disorder.
  • To identify potential temperament correlates of psychopathology in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Dimensions of Temperament-Revised (DOTS-R) questionnaire.
  • Collected data from 53 biological offspring of parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Main Results:

  • The cohort exhibited lower general activity levels and higher approach and sleep rhythmicity scores compared to population norms.
  • Offspring with psychiatric disorders showed reduced flexibility, mood, and task orientation compared to unaffected offspring.
  • Descriptive temperament profiles were generated for bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnostic categories.

Conclusions:

  • Temperament assessment, using self or parent reports, can aid in characterizing offspring at risk for bipolar disorder.
  • Decreased flexibility, task orientation, and negative mood may be associated with the development of psychopathology in high-risk children.
Abstract

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