Are Children Negatively Affected by a Parent with Bipolar Disorder?
Recently a reader asked about possible risks to children being raised by someone with bipolar disorder. In general, children’s emotional growth and development can be impaired if they are raised by someone with any major mental illness. Some of the best studies concern unipolar depression. Children of women with untreated depression do worse with regards to multiple measures of behavioral, intellectual, and emotional development. However, the good news is that these effects are greatly reduced in children of women who are being effectively treated for depression. Raising a family is a wonderful experience for most people, but the demands of childrearing are associated with a great degree of physical and emotional stress. People suffering from major mental illnesses experience this stress in addition to the demands of living with their illness. Untreated or undertreated bipolar disorder can be associated with a range of risks to children, especially during manic episodes. At these times
