Children who have bipolar parents, even if they are not bipolar themselves, score higher on a creativity index than children without bipolar parents, a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has found.

Scientists have long suspected that there is a link between creativity and bipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depressive illness. Many artists and writers have been manic-depressive or bipolar.

Results of the study were published in the November issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

“There is a reason that many people who have bipolar disorder become very successful,” said Dr. Kiki Chang, assistant professor of psychiatry and a co-author of the study.

The study examined creative characteristics in 40 bipolar parents and their 40 children and compared them with 18 healthy adults and their 18 healthy children. The children ranged in age from 10 to 18.

Half of the children of bipolar parents had already been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the other half had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which appears to be an early sign of bipolar disorder.

— Don Kazak