Childhood Trauma as an Environmental Determinant of Risk of Violence in Bipolar Disorder

The complex interaction of violent behavior, childhood trauma and bipolar disorder (BD) is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the risk factors of violence in BD and studied the relationship between different types of childhood trauma and violence.

We assessed 105 remitted patients diagnosed with BD I (n=91) or BD II (n=14). All patients were evaluated with the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) and Violence Tendency Scale (VTS). Uni- and Multivariable Linear Regression Analyses were conducted to predict violent behavior.

All patients scored high points on CTQ and violence scales. In the univariate regression analysis, CTQ total and subscale scores (except physical neglect), age and presence of lifetime suicide attempts were correlated with both VTS and BPAQ. Emotional and sexual abuse subtypes had a significant correlation with violence. In the multivariate analysis, only CTQ total score and age were significantly correlated with violence. There was a negative relationship between age and violence.

All types of childhood traumas seem to be correlated with violent behavior in patients with BD. Childhood trauma and younger age are significant determinants of violence in BD. The VTS, which emerged in Turkey, may assist clinicians to detect potentially aggressive behavior before it becomes obvious.