Diagnosis in children and adolescents

Criteria established for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD) are anchored primarily in data and clinical experience derived from affected adults. Nevertheless, onset of BD in adolescence is common. Although very few preadolescents fulfill the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 diagnostic criteria for BD-I or-II, in clinical settings many children seen to experience frequent, intermittent, and severe emotional upsets with minimal provocation that lead to dyscontrolled and harmful behaviors. The possibility that these youngsters difficulties represent a form of BD was broached over 20 years ago and remains controversial.