Reliability of reports of childhood trauma in bipolar disorder: A test-retest study over 18 months.

This study aimed to explore the reliability of self-reported trauma histories in a population with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Previous studies in other populations suggest high reliability of trauma histories over time, and it was postulated that a similar high reliability would be demonstrated in this population. A total of 39 patients with a confirmed diagnosis (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, criteria) were followed up and readministered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire after 18 months.

Enquiring about traumatic experiences in bipolar disorder: a case note and self- report comparison.

Objectives: This study examined: (i) the prevalence of lifetime trauma, childhood trauma and trauma related to civil unrest in a Bipolar Disorder sample, and (ii) the agreement between rates of disclosure of trauma in case notes and self-report questionnaires.

Methods: The case notes of sixty participants, recruited from a geographically well-defined mental health service in Northern Ireland, were examined for reports of experiences of lifetime, childhood and traumatic events related to civil conflict. The participants also completed self-report measures of trauma.

Autobiographical memory specificity, depression, and trauma in bipolar disorder.

Objectives: In a bipolar disorder (BD) sample, the present study investigated: (i) the prevalence of trauma; (ii) the specificity of autobiographical memory (AM); (iii) the influence of childhood trauma on AM specificity, current inter-episode depressive mood, and BD severity; (iv) if AM specificity moderates the influence of childhood trauma on current inter-episode depressive mood and BD severity.

Methods: Fifty-two participants were recruited from a geographically well-defined mental health service in Northern Ireland. The AM test, self-report measures of lifetime experience of trauma, childhood trauma, and depression were administered.

Errorless learning and memory performance in schizophrenia.

There is evidence that patients with schizophrenia have impaired explicit memory and intact implicit memory. The present study sought to replicate and extend that of O'Carroll et al. [O'Carroll, R.

Exposure to "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland influences the clinical presentation of schizophrenia.

Introduction: This study investigates the effect of exposure to "The Troubles" (the period of civil unrest from 1968 onwards) in Northern Ireland on symptomatology in people with schizophrenia.

Method: Eighty-two participants were assessed on a number of psychiatric rating scales and on measures of trauma, including an instrument designed to assess exposure to "Troubles"-related trauma.

Results: People with schizophrenia and a history of exposure to "The Troubles" had significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, dissociative symptoms and number of admissions compared to those patients with no such exposure.

Effects of trauma on bipolar disorder: the mediational role of interpersonal difficulties and alcohol dependence.

Objectives: This study examined: (i) the prevalence of trauma in a bipolar disorder (BD) sample, and (ii) how trauma histories mediated by interpersonal difficulties and alcohol dependence impact on the severity of BD. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its relationship to outcomes in BD were also examined.

Methods: Sixty participants were recruited from a geographically well-defined mental health service in Northern Ireland.