Screening for bipolar disorders using the Hypomanic Personality Scale

Introduction: The Hypomanic Personality Scale (Hyp; Eckblad and Chapman, 1986) might be an indicator for the risk for bipolar affective disorders. We investigated whether the results with American samples can be replicated in a different sample. Methods: The participants (N=224) completed a questionnaire package including the Hyp Scale and were independently interviewed with a psychiatric interview schedule. Results: Compared to the control group, persons scoring high on the Hyp scale reported significantly more manic or hypomanic episodes but not episodes of major depression. Correspondingly, the risk group exceeded the control group only on the rate of bipolar affective disorders (20.8% vs. 1.3%) but not unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, or other psychiatric conditions. Conclusions: It seems that the Hyp scale assesses a similar concept in American and German samples, and that it might be a useful tool to study more closely the processes associated with the development of bipolar spectrum disorders.