Why consider childhood trauma in bipolar disorder?
Experiences of childhood trauma are incredibly common among individuals with bipolar disorder. The literature tells us that people who were exposed to childhood trauma will report a more severe or long-term form of bipolar disorder, including more severe depressive symptoms. However, what we do not know is why childhood trauma and the severity of depressive symptoms are linked.
Can attachment insecurity help us understand this link?
Attachment can be understood as a person’s “blueprint” of relationships. A person who experiences attachment insecurity may approach relationships in a way that’s characterised by uncertainty, fear, or avoidance. Unsurprisingly, childhood trauma is a known risk factor for the development of attachment insecurity.
Our study: what did we research?
To evaluate whether attachment insecurity can help us understand the relationship between childhood trauma and the severity of depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder, we used a modelling technique and assessed the relationships between the aforementioned variables. Do you want to know what we found? You can look up the article here.