Bipolarity in children

Childhood and adolescent bipolar disorder has been less studied than adult- onset bipolar illness. Case reports of mania in childhood can be found as e arly as the mid nineteenth century, however. Historically, several factors have made the accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children difficult: (1) clinical bias against the diagnosis of mania in children, (2) low base rate of disorder, (3) symptom overlap between bipolar disorder and other m ore prevalent childhood-onset psychiatric disorders, and (4) developmental constraints and variability in clinical presentation.