Childhood maltreatment and coping in bipolar disorder.

Abstract

A personal history of childhood maltreatment has been associated with unfavorable outcomes in bipolar disorder (BD). The impact of early life stressors on the course of BD may be influenced by individual differences in coping skills. The coping construct relies on neurocognitive mechanisms that are usually influenced by childhood maltreatment. The objective of the present study was to verify the association between childhood maltreatment and coping skills in individuals with BD Type 1. Thirty female euthymic outpatients with BD Type 1 were evaluated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and two additional instruments to measure their coping preferences: Ways of Coping Questionnaire (coping strategies) and Brief COPE (coping styles). Reports of physical abuse (B = .64, p ≤ .01) and emotional abuse (B = .44, p = .01) were associated with the use of maladaptive strategies that focused on emotional control. Adaptive strategies and styles of coping, such as focusing on the problem, were chosen less frequently by women who had experienced emotional neglect (B = .53, p ≤ .01) and physical abuse (B = -.48, p ≤ .01) in childhood. The small sample size in the present study prevented subgroup analyses. The sample did not include male BD participants. Our results indicate that early traumatic events may have a long-lasting deleterious influence on coping abilities in female BD patients. Future prospective studies may investigate whether the negative impact of childhood maltreatment over the course of BD is mediated by individual differences in coping abilities.

Psychosocial Traumatic Environments: A Clinical Case of Childhood Abuse

“…Citing the study conducted by Goldberg et al (2005) [21], Daruy-Filho et al (2013) [22] highlight that traumatic experiences in childhood are recognized as common events in individuals with bipolar disorder, with 49% reporting some form of abuse or neglect. Childhood trauma, as described by Biasuz and Böeckel (2012) [10], occurs when a child's innate resources are violated by distressing events.…”

“…Citing the study conducted by Goldberg et al ( 2005) [21], Daruy-Filho et al ( 2013) [22] highlight that traumatic experiences in childhood are recognized as common events in individuals with bipolar disorder, with 49% reporting some form of abuse or neglect. In research carried out on women diagnosed with bipolar disorder, clear reports of physical abuse (B = 0.64, p ≤ 0.01) and emotional abuse (B = 0.44, p = 0.01) were associated with the use of maladaptive strategies.…”

Coping Strategies and Their Relationship With Subjective Distress due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

“…These instruments assess coping responses that focus on the problem and also address situational aspects, identifying responses as potentially dysfunctional or adaptive and problem-centered or emotion-centered ( Carver, 1997 ). However, the grouping of coping strategies (coping styles) in different samples and contexts is inconsistent in the literature ( Baumstarck et al, 2017 ; Carver et al, 1989 ; Cooper et al, 2006 ; Daruy-Filho et al, 2013 ; Hastings et al, 2005 ). The COPE inventory is a widely used instrument that originally had 60 items distributed among 15 factors.…”

Associations of Attachment and Coping Styles With Social Functioning in Patients With Bipolar Disorder I

“…An important aspect of social functioning is how patients with BD cope with stressful events. Previous research focused on the role of coping with regard to disease onset, clinical features, or links with early adversities (Daruy-Filho et al, 2013; Grassi-Oliveira et al, 2010; Knowles et al, 2005; Kramer 2010). Noticing the mood symptoms early and coping with prodromal syndromes in BD are shown to prevent relapses, and the differences in coping strategies can affect the clinical outcomes in BD (Ryu et al, 2012).…”