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Social influences on bipolar affective disorders
1Mental Health Services, Addenbrooke's NHS Trust, Fulbourne Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
|July 1, 1995
Summary
Psychosocial adversity impacts bipolar disorder, particularly in early episodes. High family expressed emotion may link to relapse, warranting further research into stress and bipolar disorder.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Psychosocial adversity is linked to bipolar disorder onset and course.
- Previous research on life events and stress has yielded inconsistent results.
- Family atmosphere, specifically expressed emotion, shows potential association with relapse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of psychosocial adversity on bipolar disorder.
- To explore the inconsistent findings in life event studies.
- To investigate the association between family atmosphere and bipolar disorder relapse.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on life event histories.
- Evaluation of family atmosphere studies, including expressed emotion.
- Analysis of the relationship between psychosocial stress and bipolar disorder.
Main Results:
- Life event studies show inconsistent results regarding stress and bipolar disorder.
- The impact of stress may be more pronounced in first or early episodes of bipolar disorder.
- Studies on family atmosphere suggest a link between high expressed emotion and relapse.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between psychosocial stress and bipolar disorder requires more detailed investigation.
- The pronounced effect of stress in early episodes needs further social or biological explanation.
- High expressed emotion in families is a potential factor in bipolar disorder relapse.