Pediatric Bipolar and the Media of Madness

Abstract

This past decade has witnessed an explosive rise in the controversial diagnosis of pediatric bipolar and the prescription of antipsychotics to children. Has the behavior of American children grown more irritable and defi ant, or has adult judgment of their behavior changed? How can we effectively study and explain these dramatic transformations in judgment and behavior? This article proposes a hypothesis that explains many of these developments and lays out a research program for a continuing investigation of these urgent questions. The article highlights the controversy around the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar and the emerging relations between the media of surveillance and structures of social control. It explores connections between the interactive media landscapes inhabited by youth, the behavioral expectations imposed on them in schools, and the role of psychoactive drugs in mediating this tension. Finally, the article details the intersections between media, communications, and madness studies and proposes a research agenda for studying this controversy using approaches drawn from these disciplines.

“A progressive downward spiral”: The circulation of risk in “bipolar disorder”.

“…Indeed, the turn of this century witnessed a proliferation of diagnosing children in the name of bipolar, particularly in the U.S. (Lane, 2009); between 1999 and 2003, diagnostic rates are thought to have increased by 4,000% (Carey, 2007). As such, seven percent of people under 18 years old in this country are now estimated to be on atypical antipsychotics (Domino & Schwartz, 2008), with national reports that children less than 1 year old are being subject to—even dying from—these and other pharmaceutical interventions prescribed off-label for bipolar (Bossewitch, 2010).…”