THE TRIDIMENSIONAL PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE AS A PREDICTOR OF 6-MONTH OUTCOME IN 1ST EPISODE MANIA

The authors administered the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) near hospital discharge to 27 patients with first episode mania. All patients met DSM-III-R criteria for bipolar disorder, manic type, as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Assoc iations of TPQ scores with operationalized outcome variables were anal yzed. Outcome variables included syndromic recovery at discharge and a t 6 months, syndromic recurrence, and functional recovery. Patients wh o failed to achieve functional recovery by 6 months had significantly higher Novelty-Seeking dimensional scores at the time of hospital disc harge. This association between TPQ scores and short-term outcome sugg ests that elevated Novelty-Seeking scores may reflect either personali ty characteristics that impair functional recovery or subclinical mani c symptomatology that is not reflected in other symptom measures. The TPQ may provide useful prognostic measures in patients with new onset mania.