Employing Parent,Teacher,and Youth Self-Report Checklists in Identifying Pediatric Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: An Examination of Diagnostic Accuracy and Clinical Utility

The diagnosis of bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSD) is difficult to evaluate in child and adolescent populations. The current study examines whether commonly used behavior checklists— the Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form, and the Youth Self-Report form—are clinically useful in making a differential diagnosis between BPSD and other disorders. This study is the first to investigate the validity of integrating pairs of informants using these instruments to differentiate individuals with BPSD from those with disruptive behavior disorders, major depressive disorder, and any child or adolescent not meeting criteria for BPSD. Parent report best predicted diagnostic status, yet diagnostic efficiency statistics associated with these checklists were relatively poor. Results indicate that the Child Behavior Checklist has limited utility when attempting to derive clinically meaningful information about the presentation of juvenile BPSD.