4.1. At Risk Versus Control Groups
At baseline, the at-risk group had a significantly higher number of
manic symptoms endorsed and a higher number of children who had
experienced at least one manic symptom. This finding is somewhat
surprising given previous literature has observed that manic symptoms
usually manifest at later stages in life (Duffy et al., 2019), raising
the question of whether the current study accurately captured manic
symptoms in this population. Some of the manic symptoms addressed in the
semi-structured clinical interviews were irritability, decreased need
for sleep, pressured speech, increased thoughts, flight of ideas,
agitation, and distractibility. These symptoms are commonly present in
attention hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental disorder
characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (Y. Li et
al., 2023). There is considerable overlap between these two disorders,
and studies have explored ways to distinguish between them (Barden et
al., 2023). While this study focuses on the number of symptoms rather
than diagnoses, it is possible that ADHD symptoms may have contributed
to the observed statistically significant differences in manic symptoms
between the at-risk and control groups at baseline. That is, ADHD is
much more frequent at the age tested (9-10 years), with an estimated
prevalence of 10 to 10.5% among US children and adolescent (Y. Li et
al., 2023).
The higher numbers of symptoms and incidences for depression and anxiety
within the at-risk group at follow-up are in line with and contribute to
previous literature (Duffy, 2018; Duffy et al., 2019; Faedda et al.,
2019; Vieta et al., 2018). Specifically, this research aligns with Duffy
et al.’s (2019) results and hypothesized trajectory of emerging
disorders, given at-risk participants showed a greater number of
depressive and anxious symptoms when they were older (11-12) at two-year
follow-up, than at baseline (9-10). Furthermore, as per the literature,
children with a predisposition to bipolar disorder seem to experience
more depressive symptoms and episodes than healthy controls (Duffy,
2018), and half of patients who eventually meet diagnostic criteria for
BD have experienced mood symptoms or episodes of major depressive
disorder in their youth (Faedda et al., 2019).