Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

The symptoms of bipolar disorder affect and are affected by the functioning of family environments. Little is known, however, about the stability of family functioning among youth with bipolar disorder as they cycle in and out of mood episodes. This study examined family functioning and its relation...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sullivan, A, Judd, C, Axelson, D, Miklowitz, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2012
_version_ 1797086932278181888
author Sullivan, A
Judd, C
Axelson, D
Miklowitz, D
author_facet Sullivan, A
Judd, C
Axelson, D
Miklowitz, D
author_sort Sullivan, A
collection OXFORD
description The symptoms of bipolar disorder affect and are affected by the functioning of family environments. Little is known, however, about the stability of family functioning among youth with bipolar disorder as they cycle in and out of mood episodes. This study examined family functioning and its relationship to symptoms of adolescent bipolar disorder, using longitudinal measures of family cohesion, adaptability, and conflict. Parent- and adolescent-reported symptom and family functioning data were collected from 58 families of adolescents with bipolar disorder (mean age =14.48 ± 1.60; 33 female, 25 male) who participated in a 2-year randomized trial of family-focused treatment for adolescents (FFT-A). Cohesion and adaptability scores did not significantly change over the course of the study. Parent-reported conflict prior to psychosocial treatment moderated the treatment responses of families, such that high-conflict families participating in FFT-A demonstrated greater reductions in conflict over time than low-conflict families. Moreover, adolescent mania symptoms improved more rapidly in low-conflict than in high-conflict families. For all respondents, cohesion, adaptability, and conflict were longitudinally correlated with adolescents' depression scores. Finally, decreases in parent-reported conflict also predicted decreases in adolescents' manic symptoms over the 2-year study. Findings suggest that family cohesion, adaptability, and conflict may be useful predictors of the course of adolescent mood symptoms. Family conflict may be an important target for family intervention in early onset bipolar disorder. © 2012.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T02:28:53Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:a68ef7e2-ffcd-4c6b-ba2c-4123d4f9674f
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T02:28:53Z
publishDate 2012
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:a68ef7e2-ffcd-4c6b-ba2c-4123d4f9674f2022-03-27T02:48:08ZFamily Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar DisorderJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a68ef7e2-ffcd-4c6b-ba2c-4123d4f9674fEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2012Sullivan, AJudd, CAxelson, DMiklowitz, DThe symptoms of bipolar disorder affect and are affected by the functioning of family environments. Little is known, however, about the stability of family functioning among youth with bipolar disorder as they cycle in and out of mood episodes. This study examined family functioning and its relationship to symptoms of adolescent bipolar disorder, using longitudinal measures of family cohesion, adaptability, and conflict. Parent- and adolescent-reported symptom and family functioning data were collected from 58 families of adolescents with bipolar disorder (mean age =14.48 ± 1.60; 33 female, 25 male) who participated in a 2-year randomized trial of family-focused treatment for adolescents (FFT-A). Cohesion and adaptability scores did not significantly change over the course of the study. Parent-reported conflict prior to psychosocial treatment moderated the treatment responses of families, such that high-conflict families participating in FFT-A demonstrated greater reductions in conflict over time than low-conflict families. Moreover, adolescent mania symptoms improved more rapidly in low-conflict than in high-conflict families. For all respondents, cohesion, adaptability, and conflict were longitudinally correlated with adolescents' depression scores. Finally, decreases in parent-reported conflict also predicted decreases in adolescents' manic symptoms over the 2-year study. Findings suggest that family cohesion, adaptability, and conflict may be useful predictors of the course of adolescent mood symptoms. Family conflict may be an important target for family intervention in early onset bipolar disorder. © 2012.
spellingShingle Sullivan, A
Judd, C
Axelson, D
Miklowitz, D
Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title_full Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title_fullStr Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title_full_unstemmed Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title_short Family Functioning and the Course of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder
title_sort family functioning and the course of adolescent bipolar disorder
work_keys_str_mv AT sullivana familyfunctioningandthecourseofadolescentbipolardisorder
AT juddc familyfunctioningandthecourseofadolescentbipolardisorder
AT axelsond familyfunctioningandthecourseofadolescentbipolardisorder
AT miklowitzd familyfunctioningandthecourseofadolescentbipolardisorder