Risk-taking behaviour in people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder

Sicilia, Anna Chiara (2017) Risk-taking behaviour in people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Lancaster University, Doctoral Thesis, 194pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Objectives: This study characterises risk-taking behaviours in a group of people with a self-reported diagnosis of BD using Fuzzy Trace Theory (FTT). FTT hypothesises that risk-taking is a “reasoned” (but sometimes faulty) action, rather than an impulsive act associated with mood fluctuations.
Design: We tested whether measures of FTT (verbatim and gist-based thinking) were predictive of risk-taking intentions in BD, after controlling for mood and impulsivity. We hypothesised that FTT scales would be significant predictors of risk-taking intentions even after accounting for mood and impulsivity.
Methods: 58 participants with BD (age range 21 to 78, 68% female), completed a series of online questionnaires assessing risk-intentions, mood, impulsivity and FTT.
Results: FTT scales significantly predicted risk-taking intentions (medium effect sizes), after controlling for mood and impulsivity consistent with FTT (part range .26 to .49). Participants with BD did not show any statistically significant tendency towards verbatim-based thinking.
Conclusions: FTT gist and verbatim representations were both independent predictors of risk-taking intentions, even after controlling for mood and impulsivity. The results offer an innovative conceptualisation of the mechanisms behind risk-taking in BD.

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