Dyadic Adjustment among Healthy Spouses of Bipolar I and II Disorder Patients

The aim of the study was to investigate the total dyadic adjustment (including satisfaction, cohesion, consensus and affectional expression) among spouses of bipolar patients with I and II subtypes.

82 subjects (46 women/ 36men) were enrolled in the study - 50 spouses of bipolar I (BD I) patients and 32 spouses of bipolar II (BD II) patients. We used an interview, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and a questionnaire including questions concerning basic socio-demographic data, the duration of marriage, as well as information about the patient's illness.

The results indicate that BD I is likely to be more disruptive for life-partners and is associated with a lower dyadic adjustment (assessed by the healthy spouse) than BD type II (p≤0.05). There are differences in DAS scales when specific episodes are compared with each other as well (p≤0.01). Also patients' illicit substance use and co-morbidity were significant factors (p≤0.01).

We would like to emphasize that bipolar disorder affects marriage (even the healthy spouse) and that its different subtypes (especially type I) as well as additional factors may be associated with significant deterioration of a relationship.