Parental communication style and family relationships in children of bipolar parents.

Objectives: To examine relationships between parental communication styles and family environment in parents with bipolar disorder (BD) and their children (CBP).

Methods: On measures of parental communication styles and family environment, 20 BD parents and their 23 children (CBP) were compared to controls. Children completed a current mood measure.

Results: BD parents endorsed more negative communication styles and were less expressive than controls. CBP presented with more current or lifetime mood disorder diagnoses than control children (CC). Current depressive mood was associated with different perceptions of family environment for both CBP and CC.

Conclusions: This familial high risk design indicated differences in family environment, parenting style, and in children of bipolar parents' perception of their family environment as it relates to their current mood.