'The Relationship Between Childhood Traumas and Social Cognition Through Theory of Mind and Alexithymia in Bipolar Disorder'

Takim U., SARI S., Gokcay H.

PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORTS, cilt.128, sa.2, ss.800-815, 2025 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 128 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/00332941241269549
  • Dergi Adı: PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORTS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Periodicals Index Online, AgeLine, ATLA Religion Database, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Gender Studies Database, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.800-815
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: alexithymia, Bipolar disorder, childhood trauma, social cognition, theory of mind
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study aimed to investigate the potential differences in childhood trauma (CT), theory of mind (ToM), a significant component of social cognition, and alexithymia in bipolar disorder (BD) patients and healthy controls. The study included 50 BD patients who met the study criteria and were under follow-up at our clinic along with 50 healthy controls. The two groups were matched for age, gender, and educational status. A sociodemographic questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Dokuz Eylul Theory of Mind Index (DEZIKO), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) were applied to all participants. The CTQ-Total, TAS total, and DEZIKO total scores were significantly higher in the BD group compared to the healthy group (p < .001). A significant positive correlation was identified between the TAS total score and CTQ physical neglect (r = 0.472, p = .001), CTQ emotional neglect (r = 0.449, p = .001) and CTQ total scores (r = 0.5, p < .001) in the BD group. A statistically significant negative correlation was identified between the DEZIKO faux pas score and the CTQ physical neglect score (r = -0.437, p = .002). BD patients had more adverse childhood experiences, lower ToM abilities despite being in remission, and more pronounced alexithymic personality features compared to healthy controls. We also identified a relationship between ToM, alexithymia, and adverse childhood experiences in BD.