title: Family functioning in bipolar disorder: Characteristics, congruity between patients and relatives, and clinical correlates.
abstract: Functional improvement has become one of the aims of the treatment of bipolar disorder. However, scant attention has been given to family functioning, even though it has a role in the illness outcome and is affected by the disorder. The aims of this study were to compare family functioning reported by euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls; explore the level of congruence in the perception of family environment between patients with bipolar disorder and their relatives; and analyse the relationship between clinical variables and family functioning. The sample comprised 82 adult euthymic subjects with bipolar disorder, 82 family caregivers of these patients and 47 healthy controls. Participants completed the Family Environment Scale. Results showed moderate correlations and a mean pattern almost identical between relatives' and patients' reported scores in family functioning subscales. There were significant differences between patients and controls, favourable for the latter, in the subscales cohesion (p<0.005), expressiveness (p=0.002), conflict (p=0.038), intellectual-cultural orientation (p=0.001), active-recreational orientation (p<0.005), and a non-significant trend in organization (p=0.064). Significant associations were found between family environment and clinical variables of severity. These findings contribute to increasing the understanding of family functioning in bipolar disorder and highlight the importance of family work.
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: reinares@clinic.ub.es.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinares
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: C Mar
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bonnín
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hidalgo-Mazzei
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Group, IMIM-Hospital del Mar-CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Colom
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Brisa
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Solé
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torrent
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercè
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comes
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Anabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez-Arán
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorders Program, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vieta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017028:Caregivers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D013223:Statistics as Topic
keywords: Bipolar disorder; Caregivers; Family environment; Family functioning; Relatives