Emotion perception and quality of life in bipolar I disorder.

BACKGROUND:

Across two studies we examined the role of emotion perception as a correlate of quality of life and occupational functioning in bipolar I disorder.

METHOD:

In Study 1, we tested a multifactorial model of quality of life and occupational functioning, including the role of emotion perception and other established correlates of functional outcomes, among 42 participants diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. In Study 2, participants diagnosed with bipolar I disorder and age- and gender-matched controls completed an affect recognition task and a quality of life measure.

RESULTS:

Across both studies, emotion perception related to functional outcomes. In Study 1, self-rated emotion perception explained unique variance in subjective well-being after controlling for illness characteristics, education, and executive function. In Study 2, a behavioral measure of facial affect recognition accuracy was related to quality of life, even after controlling for illness severity.

LIMITATIONS:

Limitations include the use of a cross-sectional design, relatively small sample sizes, and the focus on only one aspect of social cognition.

CONCLUSIONS:

Findings indicate that emotion perception may protect quality of life in bipolar disorder. This dimension may help predict important outcomes and, with further research, could serve as a potential treatment target.