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Understanding familial liability for emotion regulation difficulties in bipolar disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2020

Tamsyn E. Van Rheenen Open the ORCID record for Tamsyn E. Van Rheenen [Opens in a new window] ,
Kamilla Miskowiak ,
James Karantonis ,
Lisa S. Furlong ,
Greg Murray  and
Susan L. Rossell
Tamsyn E. Van Rheenen*
Affiliation:
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia
Kamilla Miskowiak
Affiliation:
Neurocognition and Emotion in Affective Disorders Group, Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
James Karantonis
Affiliation:
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia
Lisa S. Furlong
Affiliation:
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Greg Murray
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia
Susan L. Rossell
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, VIC, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Tamsyn E. Van Rheenen, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background

There has been relatively limited work focused on understanding whether relatives of individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have difficulties in the regulation of emotion, particularly in relation to perceptions about whether emotions can be effectively regulated, or trait behaviours that acknowledge emotions as self-regulators themselves. In this study, we assessed the presence and extent of difficulties in these dimensions of emotion regulation in individuals with BD compared to unaffected first-degree biological relatives (FDR) for the first time.

Methods

In total, 161 participants, including euthymic individuals with BD, unaffected FDRs, and healthy controls, were compared on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) – a multi-dimensional measure of habitual emotion regulation. Clinical data were also collected and examined in relation to DERS scores in a secondary analysis.

Results

In the BD group, difficulties were evident for most dimensions of emotion regulation as measured by the DERS; and correlated with an earlier onset of illness and more mood episodes. FDRs displayed generally normal emotion regulation, except in terms of their beliefs that emotions can be effectively regulated; on this dimension, their reported difficulty was intermediate to the BD group and controls.

Conclusion

Habitual emotion regulation difficulties in BD persist irrespective of mood state, are related to the course of illness, and should be targeted in psychological interventions. Further, the perception that emotions cannot be effectively regulated during times of distress seems to represent an endophenotype for BD.

Keywords

Emotionemotional acceptanceemotional clarityendophenotypefamilial liabilityfirst-degree relativesgeneticsself-efficacy
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 52 , Issue 13 , October 2022 , pp. 2614 - 2621
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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