Stagl, J. M., Lechner, S. C., Carver, C. S., Bouchard, L. C., Gudenkauf, L. M., Jutagir, D. R., Diaz, A., Yu, Q., Blomberg, B. B., Ironson, G., Glück, S., & Antoni, M. H. (2015). A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral stress management in breast cancer: Survival and recurrence at 11-year follow-up. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 154, 319-328.

Background. Studies of mania risk have increasingly relied on measures of subsyndromal tendencies to experience manic symptoms. The measures of mania risk employed in those studies have been shown to predict manic onset, to show familial associations, and to demonstrate expected correlations with psychosocial variables related to bipolar disorder. However, little work has been conducted to validate such measures against biologically-relevant indices, or to consider whether early adversity, which has been shown to be highly elevated among those with BD, is related to higher scores on mania risk measures. Objectives. This study tested whether a well-used self-report measure of vulnerability to mania is associated with several candidate genes that have previously been linked with bipolar disorder or with early adversity. Interactions of genes with early adversity in the prediction of mania vulnerability were also tested. Methods. Undergraduates (N = 305) completed the Hypomanic Personality Scale and the Risky Families Scale, and provided blood for genotyping. Results. Findings indicated that the HPS was related to a number of dopamine-relevant polymorphisms and with early adversity. ANKK1 appeared to specifically increase mania risk in the context of early adversity. Conclusions. Results provide additional support for the validity of the HPS.

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