Quantitative surveys also suggest a variegated response to testing children and adolescents. Jones and colleagues (2002) reported in 2002 that 78% of bipolar patients and 61% of general practice patients in a U.K. sample supported testing children for bipolar susceptibility genes. This is similar to Trippitelli et al.’s 1998 report in which 78% of bipolar patients said minors should be tested for bipolar genes, although 13% were uncertain and 10% said minors should not be tested. In another study, most participants in a bipolar support group (83%), medical students (97%), and residents (90%) would test children if prophylactic treatment were available. But fewer (70% in a bipolar support group, 40% of medical students, and 58% of residents) would test children if this were not available (Smith et al., 1996). Among affective disorder patients and family members interested in testing their children, 30% would test at birth, 33% in early childhood, 27% would test between ages 10–17, and 9% would test at 18 years or older (Meiser et al., 2008).
