To assess the family-of-origin characteristics of patients with bipolar disorder relative to those of control subjects.
Method:
Fifty-six euthymic patients meeting research diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder and 21 control subjects completed the Family Environment Scale (FES) for the family they grew up with.
Results:
The 2 groups showed strikingly similar profiles on 10 indices of family functioning or structure.
Conclusions:
The results do not support the hypothesis that specific family attributes contribute to the development of bipolar disorder.
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