Hypomanic Tendencies and Lifetime Aggression

Background

Irritability has been identified a mood-related symptom of the bipolar spectrum disorders, but associations have not been firmly established between (hypo)manic attributes and physical aggression. The Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS; Eckblad & Chapman, 1986) is a dimensional measure which has been shown in longitudinal studies to predict future bipolar spectrum diagnoses or symptomatology. This study examined relationships between HPS and selected lifetime aggression indicators. HPS factor scores were derived from three different analytic models (Rawlings, Barrantes-Vidal, Claridge, McCreery, & Galanos, 2000; Schalet, Durbin, & Revelle, 2011; & Stanton, McArtor, & Watson, 2017).

Methods

College (N = 408) and MTurk (N = 324) samples were examined. The criterion measures provided estimates of the frequency, consequences, and precipitating events of past aggression.

Results

HPS associations with the aggression indicators were pervasive and strong (medium to large) in their effect sizes in the MTurk sample. These associations tended to be stronger for the men. The odds of prior lethal threats and/or injuries to other(s) were three to five times higher for respondents in this MTurk sample with an HPS score above 25 as compared to the remaining sample. Factor scores measuring emotional volatility, inflated social confidence, and activation levels were most closely associated with aggressive tendencies. The HPS-20 (Meads & Bentall, 2008) was found to approximate the HPS outcomes.

Limitations

This cross-sectional methodology precluded inferences regarding the directionality of the associations. The accuracy of these retrospective self-reports could not be verified.

Conclusions

Hypomania appears to be associated with both irritability and self-reported acts of lifetime physical aggression.