Impact of childhood trauma and affective temperament on resilience in bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether childhood trauma (CT) and affective temperament have an impact on resilience in bipolar patients. METHODS: One hundred cases with bipolar disorder (BD) diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) were evaluated consecutively in their euthymic period during outpatient follow-up interviews. Diagnostic interviews were done with SCID-I, affective temperament was evaluated with the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire, and resilience was evaluated with the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). The presence of CT was determined and measured with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). RESULTS: Among the bipolar patients, it was found that 35 cases (35%) were CT+. Depressive, cyclothymic, and anxious temperament scores were higher in CT+ cases. However, resilience scores were higher in CT− cases. In bipolar patients with and without childhood trauma, the relationship between temperament and resilience appears to be different. A negative relation between sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and anxious temperament scores and resilience scores was shown in regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: CT and affective temperament both have an impact on resilience in bipolar patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40345-015-0023-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.