Our investigations
Bipolar tends to run in families; therefore, children of an affected parent are at high risk for developing mood disorders including bipolar and depressive disorders. The Flourish research program investigating children at familial risk started in 1995 when Dr. Anne Duffy undertook a Fellowship after graduating as a psychiatrist at the University of Ottawa and joined the clinical research group led by Dr. Paul Grof. This group was advancing the understanding of bipolar disorders by studying carefully clinically characterized bipolar patients and their family members. This work identified several bipolar subtypes including classical lithium responsive subtype. Dr. Duffy embarked on a novel study describing the onset and the course of bipolar disorder in children of affected parents. https://wp3.its.queensu.ca/u-flourish/filter/tips. The parents and, by association their families, were dichotomized based on long-term treatment and clinical profile into lithium responders or lithium non-responders. This research has continued over 25 years and expanded to include collaborations with multidisciplinary researchers in Canada, the UK including Oxford University and Europe including IGSLi.
Our findings
In partnership with families and collaboration with colleagues and students, we have described the developmental clinical trajectory of bipolar disorder onset. The result is a refined conceptual “staging” framework identifying opportunities for prevention and early intervention, informing studies of multi-level (biopsychosocial) risk processes, and advancing individual risk prediction. Study findings also underscore the importance of a comprehensive assessment for accurate diagnosis including developmental history, family history, clinical course and social context. This work has also clarified controversies in the field; for example debunking the proposal that explosive temper, chronic irritability and oppositional behaviour in the context of ADHD was an earlier variant of mania in very young children.
Our support
This Flourish offspring research has been consistently funded for over 25 years by competitive grants, including from the CIHR and NARSAD, and philanthropic donations.
Our publications
We have provided links to a collection of key publications from this study. The database is in the process of being completed, cleaned and de-identified. We hope the data collected over many years will continue to inform the field moving forward. We sincerely thank the families who have shown courage and dedication in partnering with us on this journey.
Learn more
In partnership with families and collaboration with colleagues and students, we have described the developmental clinical trajectory of bipolar disorder onset. The result is a refined conceptual “staging” framework identifying opportunities for prevention and early intervention, informing studies of multi-level (biopsychosocial) risk processes, and advancing individual risk prediction. Study findings also underscore the importance of a comprehensive assessment for accurate diagnosis including developmental history, family history, clinical course and social context. This work has also clarified controversies in the field; for example debunking the proposal that explosive temper, chronic irritability and oppositional behaviour in the context of ADHD was an earlier variant of mania in very young children.
This Flourish offspring research has been consistently funded for over 25 years by competitive grants, including from the CIHR and NARSAD, and philanthropic donations.
We have provided links to a collection of key publications from this study. The database is in the process of being completed, cleaned and de-identified. We hope the data collected over many years will continue to inform the field moving forward. We sincerely thank the families who have shown courage and dedication in partnering with us on this journey.
Connect with us
For more information about the U-Flourish Student Well-being Research, please feel free to contact the U-Flourish team at flourish@queensu.ca.
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Funding
U-Flourish has been continuously funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Rossy Family Foundation. We thank the following campus and community partners for providing FLEX credit and food incentives for the student engagement campaign: Queen's University's Division of Student Affairs and Domino's Pizza, respectively. We also thank all Queen's University Professors, Departments, and student groups that have supported the U-Flourish’s student engagement campaigns.
For the development of the Digital Well-Being Platform, Online Mental Health Course, and integration of digital resources into student care pathways at Student Health Services, we have received funding from the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation.