Symptoms leading to a bipolar diagnosis: a phone survey of child and adolescent psychiatrists.

Objective: We surveyed child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs) to characterize how they diagnose bipolar disorder (BPD) in children.

Methods: We approached by mail and then telephone 100 CAPs randomly sampled from five regions of the main professional organization of American CAPs; 53 CAPs were reached and agreed to participate. We asked about their training and practice setting, and asked them to name 10 symptoms indicative of BPD.