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Educational Achievement, IQ and Affective Disorder in the Adult Offspring of Bipolar Manic-Depressives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Brent G. H. Waters
Affiliation:
Affective Disorders Clinic, Royal Ottawa Hospital, 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Z 7K4
Irene Marchenko-Bouer
Affiliation:
Royal Ottawa Hospital
Donna Smiley
Affiliation:
Royal Ottawa Hospital

Summary

An educational history, corroborated by records where available, was obtained on 54 of the 58 adult offspring of 17 bipolar manic-depressives. The offspring were also interviewed and psychiatric status was ascertained.

Primary and other affective disorder in the offspring was not associated with a lower IQ or lower ultimate educational attainment than that of the remaining offspring. There was a trend towards increased educational failure in the offspring with primary affective disorder, but they were as likely as other offspring who had failed to have resumed their education at a later date. Ill offspring with any form of school failure had a significantly earlier onset to their psychiatric illness, although school failure could not be shown to be a part of an early symptom complex.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1981 

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