Your Child Does NOT Have Bipolar Disorder: A Book Review

[摘要] Confusion has gripped the field of child and adolescent psychiatry the past 17 years as the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder has skyrocketed. Children, whose behavior is often irritable, explosive, agitated, or unpredictable, are increasingly labeled “bipolar” by parents, teachers, peers, and professionals in the field. The term bipolar was previously used as a synonym for manic-depressive illness, a serious mood disorder marked by obvious episodes of depressive symptoms alternating with manic episodes. Now the bipolar label is being used in pediatrics, even in toddlers and preschoolers, despite the fact that the diagnostic criteria is only defined in adults. In children, bipolar has been used to describe temper tantrums, irritability, anger, hyperactivity, oppositionality, or ill-defined mood swings.

[学科分类] 精神健康和精神病学