Descriptions Of Each Instrument And Sample Scoring Forms

The Child Bipolar Parent Questionnaire Version 2.0 (CBQ)

In order to address the significant gap in available psychiatric rating scale instruments designed to assess juvenile-onset bipolar disorder symptoms, the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation (JBRF) has supported the development of an assessment instrument for this purpose. The CBQ is a 65 item questionnaire that is designed to serve as a rapid screening inventory of common behavioral symptoms and dimensional factors associated with pediatric bipolar disorder. It measures, in a standardized format, the behavioral problems of children ages 5-17 as reported by their parents or parent surrogates; suitable for use in clinical practice and in research studies, and available in online and hard copy versions.

The CBQ uses a Likert scale for frequency of occurrence with items rated “1-Never or hardly ever,” “2-Sometimes,” “3-Often,” or “4-Very often or “almost constantly”. The CBQ takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and is divided into 10 subscales, each of which may be scored separately. Three scores may be derived from CBQ responses: a total score, derived from the number of items scored >1; a severity score, derived from the number of items scored >2; and a Core Criteria score, derived from a subset of 22 items keyed to Core Diagnostic Criteria (see definition of Core Phenotype).

The CBQ demonstrated excellent reliability and validity in psychometric testing. However, we must emphasize that the CBQ is a screening instrument, meaning that it suggests the likelihood that PBD is present. It should not take the place of a careful diagnostic evaluation by a physician, nurse practitioner, or other qualified clinician, but it may serve as an integral part of such an evaluation.

The online CBQ may be conveniently completed at home in advance of a visit to the clinician as a time-saving aid to his or her assessment. Scoring of this online questionnaire has been programmed to be automatic. Scoring algorithms are available for those clinicians who elect to purchase pencil and paper versions.

Review the validation study of the CBQ

History of Development and Validation of The Child Bipolar Questionnaire

The first version of the CBQ, an 85-item checklist, was constructed based on the model proposed by Depue et al. (1989) who derived a dimensional approach to defining bipolar disorder in adults. Seventy  of the original eighty-five items selected for CBQ version 1.0 were keyed to symptoms drawn from DSM-IV diagnostic categories for mania, major depression, separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention-deficit disorder.

The instrument was administered to parents of a large clinical sample of children (N=450) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder, including BP I, BP II, and BP-NOS. The most common positively endorsed items were rank ordered according to frequency of occurrence, and of these, the 65 highest ranked symptoms and behaviors were included in the CBQ Version 2.0.

Via the Internet-based data collection system of the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation  (JBRF), (www.bpchildresearch.org), data were assembled that provided information of testable reliability on both psychiatric rating scale data and prior/current bipolar disorder diagnostic status for the development of screening algorithms designed to identify children/adolescents with a strong diathesis for, or early onset of bipolar disorder.

The JBRF website data collection system has been fully operative since early 2003 and CBQ data, and other diagnostically-useful information have now been assembled on over four thousand children. This initial research, suggesting a Core Phenotype (see also Journal of Affective Disorders article on this subject).

See a sample page of the Child Bipolar Questionnaire

See a scoring sample of the Child Bipolar Questionnaire

The Jeannie/Jeffrey Illustrated Interview for Children; A Child Self-administered or Clinician Administered Questionnaire:

The Jeannie and Jeffrey Illustrated Interview is the first assessment tool for bipolar disorder designed specifically for children. With its comicip style pictures (designed by Karl Gude, Director of Graphic Design at Newsweek magazine), it engages the childís interest and diminishes the threat of self-disclosure, allowing the child to reveal mood states, fears, suicidal thoughts, and/or hallucinations that he or she may be afraid to talk about with the parent and clinician.

See a sample page of the Jeannie Illustrated Interview

See a sample page of the Jeffrey Illustrated Interview

Children rarely have words to describe what they are feeling so powerfully inside, and the Jeannie and Jeffrey provides the psychiatrist, therapist, and parents insight into a child's internal world so that he or she feels less isolated and alone. Moreover, medical and therapeutic interventions can be tailored to each child's concerns and subjective feelings, as well as to his or her behaviors.

This child-report version of the CBQ is also for use by clinicians and research studies as an initial screening instrument scale, and is scored in the same manner as the CBQ. Keyed to CBQ items, the questions describe symptoms and behaviors experienced by another child, Jeffrey or Jeannie. Each item is illustrated with pictures designed to allow a child to endorse a symptom or behavior without the use of words. The scale was developed for use with children under 12 years old. It takes 20-25 minutes for a child to complete. The child responds by choosing a rating on an illustrated Likert-type scale that best matches the degree and frequency with which he/she has had the experience.

See a scoring sample of the Jeannie/Jeffrey Illustrated Interview

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Descriptions Of Each Instrument And Sample Scoring Forms