Behavioral self-regulation in pediatric bipolar disorder and healthy offspring of bipolar patients

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated behavioral self-regulation problems using the Children's Hostility Inventory (CHI) in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), healthy offspring of bipolar disorder patients (HOBD), and healthy controls (HC) without previous history of psychiatric disorders.

METHODS

The CHI was administered to 41 consecutive children and adolescents diagnosed with PBD, to 16 HOBD, and to 22 HC. The inventory assessed irritability, expression, hostility, and aggression and was completed by the children with the help of their mothers. Adolescents and their respective parents were interviewed separately using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL).

RESULTS

All subscales of the CHI presented statistically significant differences, except for the subscale assessing feelings of suspicion. Pairwise comparisons revealed consistently significant differences between the PBD group and controls, indicating more self-regulation difficulties in the PBD group, represented by high levels of hostility and aggressive behavior. There were no significant differences between the PBD and HOBD groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Future studies should further investigate if such behavior is state-dependent or a trait of bipolar juvenile expression. Expression of hostility and irritability should be considered relevant targets in psychosocial approaches addressing this population.

[Evaluation scale of autistic behavior. Validity and reliability of a scale for autistic behavior detection]

This study aimed to translate, to adapt and to validate the scale of autistic traits (ATA) developed by Ballabriga et al. in Barcelona, by the analysis of 31 patients with mental deficiency and 30 patients with autism, according to the DSM-IV criteria. The "cut off point" found was 15 (p = 0.05); the reliability coefficient was 0.27; the construct validity showed low agreement (kappa = 0.04) and the internal validity was 100%, with all evaluated patients having their clinical diagnosis confirmed through the scale application. The correlation index was 0.42, showing that it is specific for autism. The scale presents discrimination capacity and internal consistency, and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.71. We consider that achieved results show that the scale is reliable to be used in our population.