Is co-occurrence of adult adhd with bipolar disorder a risk factor for violent behavior?

Research has shown that individuals with psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder (BD) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher likelihood of violent behavior. This study investigated the frequency of comorbid BD and ADHD in adultpatients and the relationship between this comorbidity and violent behavior. We assessed 105 remitted patients diagnosed with BD I (n = 91) or BD II (n = 14). The patients were administered the Sociodemographic Data Scale, the Wender-Utah Rating Scale (WURS), the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), and theViolence Tendency Scale (VTS) as self-reports. The same clinician administered the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in adults (DIVA 2.0) to patients who scored≥36 on the WURS. Comorbid ADHD was diagnosed in 15.2% of patients according to the DIVA 2.0. In the multiple linear regression analysis, there was a statistically significant positive effect of the ASRS total score on the VTS and the BPAQ total score. Furthermore, it was found that male gender had a statistically significant positive effect on VTS total score and young age had a statistically significant positive effect on BPQA total score. These findings demonstrate an association between BD, comorbid ADHD, and violent behavior.