Childhood CBCL bipolar profile and adolescent/young adult personality disorders: a 9-year follow-up.
BACKGROUND
To assess the late adolescent psychiatric outcomes associated with a positive Child Behavior Checklist-Juvenile Bipolar Disorder Phenotype (CBCL-JBD) in children diagnosed with ADHD and followed over a 9-year period.


METHODS
Parents of 152 children diagnosed as ADHD (ages 7-11 years) completed the CBCL. Ninety of these parents completed it again 9 years later as part of a comprehensive evaluation of Axis I and II diagnoses as assessed using semi-structured interviews. As previously proposed, the CBCL-JBD phenotype was defined as T-scores of 70 or greater on the Attention Problems, Aggression, and Anxiety/Depression subscales.


RESULTS
The CBCL-JBD phenotype was found in 31% of those followed but only 4.9% of the sample continued to meet the phenotype criteria at follow-up. Only two of the sample developed Bipolar Disorder by late adolescence and only one of those had the CBCL-JBD profile in childhood. The proxy did not predict any Axis I disorders. However, the CBCL-JBD proxy was highly predictive of later personality disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
Only a subgroup of the original childhood sample was followed. Given this sample was confined to children with ADHD, it is not known whether the prediction of personality disorders from CBCL scores would generalize to a wider community or clinical population.


CONCLUSIONS
A positive CBCL-JBD phenotype profile in childhood does not predict Axis I Disorders in late adolescence; however, it may be prognostic of the emergence of personality disorders.
Department of Psychology, Queens College of the City University of New York, NY 11367, United States. jeffrey.halperin@qc.cuny.edu
Jeffrey M
JM
Halperin
Julia J
JJ
Rucklidge
Robyn L
RL
Powers
Carlin J
CJ
Miller
Jeffrey H
JH
Newcorn
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult