The Role of Childhood Trauma in Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

The relationship between childhood trauma and Bipolar Disorder was investigated by analyzing Childhood Trauma Questionnaires of participants with Type I or Type II BD. Due to the small sample size, data were not found to support hypotheses that higher levels of childhood trauma are correlated with a higher incidence of BD Type I or psychotic features, or that there were sex differences within childhood trauma exposure that correlated with sex differences in the presentation of BD Type I versus Type II. Results show a strong statistically significant relationship between minimalization/denial subscores and total CTQ scores, which indicates the possibility that some BD patients who denied experiencing childhood trauma may minimalize the effect possible trauma played in their development of BD.