DEVELOPMENT OF MANIA RATING SCALES FOR CHILDREN AGE 6-12

拟议研究的重点是开发双相情感障碍的评估工具。 青春期前儿童的疾病。 就像躁郁症最近 被认为是青春期前的一种合法的精神疾病， 人口评估工具有限。 这一点意义重大 关注，无论是提供常规评估的临床医生， 双相情感障碍儿童的管理，以及研究人员试图 确定最适当的类型和强度的治疗，为这些 孩子 对该疾病的诊断不足已被记录在 孩子 Weller等人报告说，50%的儿童在他们的 研究为躁狂症最初收到一些其他的诊断，最常见的 精神分裂症 他们强调，需要考虑躁狂症， 精神病儿童的诊断（1986 a）。 进行的研究 到目前为止，对双相情感障碍儿童的研究由于缺乏系统的 行为观察 因此，如果没有有效和可靠的工具， 评估儿童双相情感障碍，诊断的准确性， 后续护理的适当性，以及关于精神健康的研究 为患有躁郁症的儿童提供的服务将受到阻碍。 虽然 临床评定量表通常用于评估和监测躁狂症 对于成年人群，还没有开发或测试过这样的量表 尤其是青春期前的儿童。 最有用的是，这种秤 应该能够区分躁狂和多动症儿童，因为这 这是一个特别难辨别的问题。 因此，本研究的目的是开发更精确的 评估青春期前儿童双相情感障碍的工具。 这些 仪器的设计应使其既可用于 双相情感障碍儿童的定期管理， 向这些儿童提供服务的效率。 为了实现这一点， 根据两个躁狂评定量表的心理测量学特性，躁狂 评定量表和临床总体印象-躁狂症将 在青春期前人群中确定：最佳截止分数， 灵敏度、特异性、预测值、诊断置信度， 对临床状态变化的敏感性，重测信度， 内部一致性、聚合效度和区分效度。 将在基线时比较双相情感障碍儿童的这些以及其他 以前验证的工具，以儿童的注意力缺陷 多动症（ADHD）单独，ADHD和行为障碍，单极 重度抑郁症、精神分裂症和正常对照儿童。 所有 六个星期后，将对六个小组进行重新评估。 这项研究应 提供有关可靠性、有效性和实用性的基本数据 两个评估量表来评估躁狂症。 这一信息应 有利于心理健康服务提供者，因为他们评估，治疗， 研究儿童双相情感障碍的治疗效果。

The proposed study's focus is to develop assessment tools for bipolar illness in prepubertal children. As bipolar illness has only recently been recognized as a legitimate psychiatric disorder among a prepubertal population assessment instruments are limited. This is of significant concern, both to clinicians who provide routine evaluation and management of bipolar children, and to researchers attempting to determine the most appropriate type and intensity of treatment for these children. Underdiagnosis of the disorder has been documented in children. Weller, et al. reported 50% of children diagnosed in their study as manic originally received some other diagnosis, most commonly schizophrenia. They stress the need to consider mania in the deferential diagnosis of psychotic children (1986a). Research conducted to date on bipolar children is noted for its lack of systematic behavioral observations. Thus, without valid and reliable tools to assess bipolar illness in children, accuracy in diagnosis, appropriateness of subsequent care, and research regarding mental health services to children with bipolar disorder will be hindered. Although clinical rating scales to assess and monitor mania are commonly used with adult populations, no such scales have been developed for or tested specifically in prepubertal children. To be most useful, such scales should be able to discriminate manic from hyperactive children, as this is an especially difficult discrimination to make. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop more precise instruments to assess bipolar illness in prepubertal children. these instruments should be designed such that they can be used both in the regular management of bipolar children and in research to examine the efficacy of service delivery to these children. To accomplish this, the following psychometric properties of two mania rating scales, the Mania Rating Scale and the Clinical Global Impression--Mania will be determined in a prepubertal population: optimal cut-off scores, sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, diagnostic confidence, sensitivity to change in clinical status, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Bipolar children will be compared at baseline on these as well as other previously validated instruments to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) alone, ADHD and conduct disorder, unipolar major depression, schizophrenia, and to normal control children. All six groups will be reassessed six weeks later. This study should provide essential data regarding the reliability, validity, and utility of two rating scales to assess mania. This information should be beneficial to mental health service providers as they assess, treat, and study treatment efficacy of bipolar illness in children.