Adult attachment in bipolar 1 disorder.

Objectives: To determine how security of adult attachment style is related to the mania, major depression and euthymic mood states in bipolar 1 (BP1) disorder.

Design: An observational cross-sectional study.

Method: One hundred and seven BP1 patients (34 in a manic type episode, 30 in major depressive episode, and 43 in remission) and 41 healthy controls similar in age, gender, reading age, and education were recruited.

Psychological processes in bipolar affective disorder: negative cognitive style and reward processing.

Background: Psychological processes in bipolar disorder are of both clinical and theoretical importance.

Aims: To examine depressogenic psychological processes and reward responsivity in relation to different mood episodes (mania, depression, remission) and bipolar symptomatology.

Method: One hundred and seven individuals with bipolar disorder (34 in a manic/hypomanic or mixed affective state; 30 in a depressed state and 43 who were euthymic) and 41 healthy controls were interviewed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and completed a battery of self-rated and experimental measures assessing negative cognitive styles, coping response to negative affect, self-esteem stability and reward responsiveness.

Developing the BALANCE trail--the role of the pilot study and start-up phase.

Objectives: The initial design of the BALANCE (Bipolar Affective disorder: Lithium / ANtiConvulsant Comparative Evaluation) Trial of maintenance treatment for bipolar disorder was based on the experience of previous trials in bipolar disorder and psychiatry and on the methods developed for large randomized trials in other areas of medicine. This report describes the adaptations to the initial design and trial procedures following the initial phases of the study. The rationale for the trial and full protocol have been published elsewhere.