title: Affect intensity measure in bipolar disorders: a multidimensional approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emotional dysregulation, characterized by high levels of both arousal and intensity of emotional responses, is a core feature of bipolar disorders (BDs). In non-clinical populations, the 40-item Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) can be used to assess the different dimensions of emotional reactivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the factor structure of the AIM in a sample of 310 euthymic patients with BD using Principal Component Analysis and examined associations between AIM sub-scale scores and demographic and illness characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The French translation of the AIM demonstrated good reliability. A four-factor solution similar to that reported in non-clinical samples (Positive Affectivity, Unpeacefulness [lack of Serenity], Negative Reactivity, Negative Intensity), explained 47% of the total variance. Age and gender were associated with Unpeacefulness and Negative reactivity respectively. 'Unpeacefulness' was also positively associated with psychotic symptoms at onset (p=0.0006), but negatively associated with co-morbid substance misuse (p=0.008). Negative Intensity was positively associated with social phobia (p=0.0005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We cannot definitively exclude a lack of statistical power to classify all AIM items. Euthymia was carefully defined, but a degree of 'contamination' of the self-reported levels of emotion reactivity may occur because of subsyndromal BD symptoms. It was not feasible to control for the possible impact of on-going treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AIM scale appears to be a useful measure of emotional reactivity and intensity in a clinical sample of patients with BD, suggesting it can be used in addition to other markers of BD characteristics and sub-types.
authors.affiliation: Inserm, UMR-S958 - Génétique des Diabètes, Site Villemin, Paris, France. Electronic address: Flavie.Mathieu@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France; Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Etain
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Daban
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raust
authors.affiliation: AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cochet
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Hôpital Charles Perrens, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Pôle 3-4-7, Bordeaux, France; Laboratoire de Psychologie EA 4139, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gard
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Hôpital Charles Perrens, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Pôle 3-4-7, Bordeaux, France; Laboratoire de Psychologie EA 4139, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: M'Bailara
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Hôpital Charles Perrens, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Pôle 3-4-7, Bordeaux, France; Laboratoire de Psychologie EA 4139, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desage
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Service de Psychiatrie et Psychologie Clinique, CHU de Nancy, Hôpitaux de Brabois, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Service de Psychiatrie et Psychologie Clinique, CHU de Nancy, Hôpitaux de Brabois, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wajsbrot-Elgrabli
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Service de Psychiatrie et Psychologie Clinique, CHU de Nancy, Hôpitaux de Brabois, Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Pôle Universitaire de Psychiatrie, Hôpital Ste Marguerite, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Azorin
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France; Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Université Paris Est, Faculté de Médecine, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leboyer
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; APHP, Hôpital Fernand Widal, Pôle Addictologie-Toxicologie-Psychiatrie, Paris, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellivier
authors.affiliation: Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK; Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U955, Créteil, France; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatry, Créteil, France; Fondation Fondamental, Créteil, France; Université Paris Est, Faculté de Médecine, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000209:etiology*; D001143:Arousal; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Arousal; Bipolar disorder; Emotion; Intensity; Self-report