ABSTRACT
Children of parents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk of bipolar spectrum diagnoses. This cross-sectional study explores cognitive factors in the prediction of vulnerability to bipolar disorder. Adolescents at high-risk (with a parent with bipolar disorder; n = 23) and age and gender matched adolescents (n = 24) were recruited. Parent and adolescent diagnoses were evaluated (SCID and SADS-L). Adolescents completed self-report measures assessing attributional style (ASQ), appraisal of hypomania-relevant experiences (HIQ), and hypomanic personality/temperament (HPS). Despite limitations in the power of the study, significantly more adolescents at high-risk for disorder received bipolar spectrum diagnoses. Groups did not differ in attributional style, hypomanic temperament or appraisals of hypomania-relevant experiences. A trend in ASQ results and general implications are discussed. The current study suggests that familial risk of bipolar disorder is not inevitably associated with cognitive biases in adolescence.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder/etiology , Child of Impaired Parents/psychology , Family/psychology , Adolescent , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Risk Assessment/methods , Surveys and Questionnaires , United KingdomABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To examine relationships between parental communication styles and family environment in parents with bipolar disorder (BD) and their children (CBP). METHODS: On measures of parental communication styles and family environment, 20 BD parents and their 23 children (CBP) were compared to controls. Children completed a current mood measure. RESULTS: BD parents endorsed more negative communication styles and were less expressive than controls. CBP presented with more current or lifetime mood disorder diagnoses than control children (CC). Current depressive mood was associated with different perceptions of family environment for both CBP and CC. CONCLUSIONS: This familial high risk design indicated differences in family environment, parenting style, and in children of bipolar parents' perception of their family environment as it relates to their current mood.
