Prevalence of symptoms of bipolar disorder among physically challenged children

Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive disorder or a mental illness characterized by episodes of an elevated mood known as mania, usually alternating with episodes of depression. During mania an individual feels abnormally happy, energetic, or excitable, but often makes poor decisions due to unrealistic ideas or poor regard of consequences. Manic and depressive episodes can impair the individual's ability to function in ordinary life. Children who are physically challenged experience the psychosocial effects of their inability hindering their normal behavior, personality and development. When these effects persist and begin to interfere with a child's ability to function in daily life, bipolar disorder could be the cause. The purpose of the study was to elicit the prevalence of symptoms of bipolar disorder among physically challenged children. A cross-sectional study was conducted and 80 respondents were selected from the school run by Amar Jyoti charitable trust, New Delhi. Purposive random sampling technique and a self-prepared questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was analyzed by employing “t” ratio and ANOVA. No significant association were found between independent variables (age, number of siblings, type of physical disability) and prevalence of symptoms of bipolar disorder among physically challenged children whereas significant association of gender (0.0051*)with prevalence of symptoms of bipolar disorder among physically challenged children were found. The prevalence of symptoms of bipolar disorder is higher among boys as compared to girls; the reason could be because boys tend to engage in physical activity more than girls.