both parents and four by others (two aunts, one foster
father, one family friend). The participants replied to the
structured questions and then most took the opportunity to
respond to ‘Is there anything else you want to tell us?’ by
describing what they thought had contributed to their
child’s bipolar disorder.
In response to the question regarding when parents
noticed the onset of symptoms in their child, 61% of
parents had identified the emergence of depressive symptoms
in their child by 16 years (see Table 1).
The onset of symptoms of mania in their child was most
commonly reported by parents as occurring after 19 years
of age. Furthermore, only 5% had identified mania symptoms
in their child prior to age 12 and only 30% by age 16
(see Table 2).
Most parents (87%) had identified the emergence of
depressive symptoms by 19 years. Only 30% of parents
had noted mania symptoms. It was not until at least late
adolescence that half the parents identified mania symptoms
and the total percentage of parents who were able to
identify their emergence was 76%.
The participants also provided information on their perceptions
of the impact of these symptoms on their child’s:
(1) social relationships; (2) educational/occupational
functioning; and (3) contributors or precipitants to the
development of bipolar disorder.