Interactive behavior in bipolar manic and schizophrenic patients and its link to thought disorder

The research was designed to assess whether bipolar manic patients are unique in showing excessive interactive behavior and whether interactive behavior is linked to positive thought disorder in mania and other psychotic disorders. We compared the interactive behavior of manic patients versus schizophrenics and nonpsychotic patients. Degree of interactive behavior and severity of thought disorder were assessed in an inpatient sample of 140 patients, including 38 bipolar manic patients, and control samples of 40 acute schizophrenic patients, 32 nonpsychotic patients, and 30 chronically hospitalized schizophrenic patients. The assessment battery used standardized tests to assess interactive behavior and thought disorder. Manic patients displayed significantly more interactive behavior on all three tests than the other three patient groups. Interactive behavior made a greater contribution to the thought disorder of manic patients than to the thought disorder of the other three diagnostic groups. The other two acute patient groups also showed relationships between interactive behavior and thought disorder. The chronic schizophrenics did not show this pattern. The data indicated that many types of acute patients show some interactive behavior, but bipolar manic patients demonstrate more excessive interactive behavior than do other patients. There is a closer link between excessive interactive behavior and thought disorder in manic patients.