A Multi-facet Investigation of Impulsivity and Social Cognition in Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Research has supported the impairment of both impulsivity and social cognition within bipolar disorder (BD). Despite this, additional research is necessary to clarify the manifestation of the sub-domains of these multi-faceted constructs. This study sought to examine the manifestation of the facets of impulsivity (i.e. trait behavioural) and social cognition (i.e. theory of mind social perception). Performances on validated measures of impulsivity and social cognition from a sample of 26 BD participants and 25 community controls were compared to observe for patterns indicative of impairment. The results of this examination suggest that euthymic and subthreshold BD individuals perform equal to controls regarding behavioural measures of impulsivity, theory of mind, and social perception. At the same time, levels of trait-impulsivity are statistically elevated compared to controls. These results suggest additional variables such as medication, symptom profile, and baseline functioning may mediate/moderate the manifestation of impulsivity and social cognitive impairments.M.A

    Similar works