[Self-assessment questionnaires for the investigation of bipolarity]

Contemporary research shows that bipolar disorders are very often faced initially as depression, while the precise diagnosis usually delay 8-10 years or more. As a result of this delay in the diagnosis, the patients do not receive appropriate treatment and are not led to recession of their symptoms. Roughly one third of depressed patients are treated at mental health services and two thirds at the primary care health services. Regarding the psychiatric patients that are treated in the secondary and trietary services of mental health, various researches indicate that the bipolar disorders and especially Bipolar Disorder II are under-diagnosed and consequently they do not receive satisfactory treatment with important repercussions in the professional and social existence of Bipolar Disorders' patients. The imperative need for early diagnosis and treatment in patients with bipolar disorders is obvious, in order to decrease the big time of delay in the diagnosis of Bipolar disorders. Patient self-completed questionnaires, which are small in duration and well structured, can contribute in the early recognition of disorders of bipolar spectrum in patients that are treated at the outpatient clinics. In this bibliographic research we compare two questionnaires (the MDQ and the HCL-32) with regard to their psychometrics faculties and the possibility of use in the early diagnosis and treatment of individuals that suffers from disorders of Bipolar spectrum.