RT Article
T1 Maximal Sensitivity to Child Maltreatment at the Ages of 6 and 11 Years is Associated with the Risk of Bipolar Disorder
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 38
IS 3/4
SP 3030
OP 3054
A1 Montoro, Irene
A2 Moreno, Lorena
A2 Mulet, Patricia
A2 Miró, Carlota
A2 Leunda, Ainhoa
A2 Llaurador-Coll, Martí
A2 Muntané, Gerard
A2 Teicher, Martin H.
A2 Vilella, Elisabet
A2 Gutiérrez-Zotes, Alfonso
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1832640736
AB Adverse childhood experiences, including child maltreatment (CM), are relevant environmental risk factors for bipolar disorder (BD). However, little is known about the interaction of the type, duration and frequency of abuse with the timing of abuse in BD. The aim of this study was to investigate the different patterns of childhood trauma (frequency, type and chronology) between BD patients and healthy controls (HCs) and to identify BD-sensitive periods of exposure to CM that could influence functioning outcomes. The Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure (MACE) scale was used to evaluate the importance of the type and timing of maltreatment in a sample of 60 patients diagnosed with euthymic BD. Additionally, 76 HCs were recruited for comparison. All participants were of European-Caucasian origin and were assessed in the 2016-2019 period. To identify the variables that maximally differentiated the type and timing of exposure to CM between the BD and HC groups, a linear mixed effects model and random forest (RF) analyses were applied. We showed that multiplicity and severity, nonverbal emotional abuse, witnessing interparental violence and emotional neglect were the main factors associated with BD. In addition, regarding the occurrence of maltreatment in BD patients, we identified two sensitive periods with a principal peak at the age of 6 and a secondary peak at the age of 11. Functionality at the assessment time was associated with CM in adolescence for both HC and BD participants. Although the sample size and retrospective nature of the MACE instrument were the main limitations of our study, we were unable to explore the role of variables such as sex or socioeconomic status. We concluded that the multiplicity and sensitivity of CM exposure, mainly of the emotional type, during middle childhood are important risk factors for BD, at least in the European-Caucasian cultural setting.
K1 sensitive period
K1 mental health and violence
K1 maltreatment chronology
K1 timing
K1 MACE
K1 Domestic Violence
K1 child maltreatment
K1 Child Abuse
K1 Bipolar disorder
DO 10.1177/08862605221106128