Lived experience at the core: A classification system for risk-taking behaviours in bipolar

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry and Mental Health Research
• Behavioral Science
• Computational Linguistics in Health

Background:

• Bipolar disorder is associated with emotional dysregulation and cognitive impairments, leading to high-risk behaviors.
• Limited research exists on the specific types of risk-taking behaviors in bipolar disorder and the support available for their management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the types of risk-taking behaviors experienced by individuals with bipolar disorder.
• To assess the availability and accessibility of support for managing these behaviors.
• To develop a classification system for risk-taking behaviors in bipolar disorder.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with 18 individuals with bipolar disorder and 5 healthcare professionals.
• Content analysis and corpus linguistic methods for qualitative interview data.
• Statistical analysis of Likert-item questionnaire data to inform the classification system.

Main Results:

• A classification system identified 39 risk-taking behaviors categorized into six domains.
• Qualitative analysis revealed a need for increased support for managing risk-taking behaviors.
• Behaviors beyond suicide, self-harm, and excessive spending are often not routinely monitored.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with bipolar disorder require improved access to psychologically informed care.
• A standardized classification system or questionnaire can aid in identifying and addressing risk-taking behaviors.
• Computational linguistic methods offer a novel approach for analyzing health research data.