The key feature of bipolar disorder is mood fluctuations. Individuals with the disorder go from manic or hypomanic to depression to remission in a most unpredictable way. Ultimately, these shifts in mood are not constant and not permanent aspects of a person’s personality. Recognizing personality traits consistent in those with bipolar disorder may be important to predicting the course and severity of their illness. New research has come closer to confirming that there are three personality traits that those with bipolar disorder tend to have more than the general public.
There are hundreds of personality traits that can be used to describe a person. Are they adventurous or risk-aversive? What about intuitive, intelligent, forgetful, or disorganized? Rather than study each of the traits individually, psychologists have divided personality traits into five different categories, often called the Big 5. These are extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Each of these acts as an umbrella to the other hundreds of traits.
A new study, led by Timea Sparding and published in BMC Psychiatry, sought to find if there are differences in personality traits not only between those with bipolar disorder and the general public, but also between those with bipolar I and bipolar II.
The research found that people with bipolar disorder scored higher than most of the healthy controls on:
Neuroticism
Neuroticism is characterized by emotional instability. People high in neuroticism tend to experience high levels of anxiety and have dramatic shifts in mood. In this study, those with bipolar disorder scored higher than the general public in all areas of neuroticism except lack of assertiveness.
Extraversion
Extraversion mainly measures a person’s sociability, assertiveness, and emotional expressiveness. People high in extraversion tend to have more friends and acquaintances, be more outgoing, feel energized around others and are more likely to start conversations. People low in extraversion tend to be introverted. They mostly prefer to be alone or in small groups, they dislike being the center of attention and tend to think before they speak. The results of this study indicated that a significant amount of people with bipolar disorder scored higher on extraversion than the healthy controls.
Disinhibition
Disinhibition is essentially the other side of conscientiousness. People who are conscientious tend to be efficient, organized, ambitious and cautious. People who score high on disinhibition, on the other hand tend to be disorganized, aimless and rash. Those who score lower on conscientiousness may dislike structure and schedules, miss deadlines, and procrastinate. A significant amount of people with bipolar disorder scored higher in disinhibition, especially in the areas of irritability and impulsiveness.
The research did not find a significant difference in scores between those with bipolar I and bipolar II. They also did not find any evidence that personality profile predicted the course of illness over the two-year period, though previous studies have found that people who are more prone to depression tend to score higher in neuroticism and lower in extraversion.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all people with bipolar will have these personality traits. It is entirely possible to be a conscientious introvert with bipolar disorder as much as it is possible to be a neurotic extrovert. This study simply reveals some general personality traits for bipolar disorder that can be helpful in diagnostic considerations, case conceptualization, and treatment planning.