Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that affects about 1% of the population, representing a significant public health issue. Bipolar disorder can be associated with substance abuse problems, unemployment, increased marital dysfunction, and increased use of health services. Twin studies provide evidence that genetics plays a role in the etiology of bipolar disorder with heritability estimates as high as 93% in some studies. Molecular genetic studies were initially promising, but no genes with large effect sizes have been discovered. There is also evidence that suggests a multifactorial inheritance pattern. Consequently, genetic testing is not yet available. However, as advances are made in the understanding of genetics and psychiatric disorders, it is expected that the demand for genetic counseling for bipolar disorder will increase. Genetic counselors are well-equipped to educate patients and family members about the condition, to discuss their concerns about the risk of bipolar disorder, and to offer genetic testing should it become available. For this qualitative study, interviews were conducted to explore the opinions and perceptions of individuals with bipolar disorder and/or their siblings. The open-ended questions were designed to elicit the thoughts and attitudes about bipolar disorder and genetic counseling. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcripts from 10 interviews and the following themes were identified: excessive disease burden, variable causal attributions, desire for diagnostic test for BPD, and reproductive considerations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04102010-160350 |
| Date | 28 June 2010 |
| Creators | Perschke, Shelley Marie |
| Contributors | Emily James, MS, CGC, Robin E. Grubs, PhD, CGC, Elizabeth Gettig, MS, CGC, Martha Ann Terry, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04102010-160350/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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