Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:602-606
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
The "atypical" clinical picture of adolescent mania
JC Ballenger, VI Reus and RM Post
The authors examined the records of 9 manic patients under age 21 and 12
over age 30 for the incidence of "schizophrenic" and manic symptoms. The
adolescent patients had a higher incidence of each of the 10
schizophreniform symptoms rated and significantly more delusions and ideas
of reference. Significantly more adolescent patients had 3 or more
schizophreniform symptoms; they also had symptoms typical of mania. These
findings highlight the diagnostic importance of affective symptoms in
psychotic adolescents with mixed symptoms and raise important clinical and
theoretical questions about the atypical clinical picture of
manic-depressive illness in young patients.
