AUTHOR=Teh Wen Lin , Liu Jianlin , Chandwani Nisha , Lee Yu Wei , Tor Phern-Chern , Subramaniam Mythily , Ho Roger C. 

TITLE=Emotional urgency predicts bipolar symptoms, severity, and suicide attempt better than non-emotional impulsivity: a cross-sectional study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1277655

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1277655

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Emotional urgency is an emotion-based subdimension of trait impulsivity that is highly relevant to psychopathology and disorders of emotion dysfunction than non-emotional subdimensions (lack of perseverance, sensation seeking, lack of premeditation). However, few studies have examined the relative effects of emotional urgency in bipolar disorder. This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the clinical relevance of emotional urgency in bipolar disorders by 1) explicating clinically relevant correlates of emotional urgency and 2) comparing its effects against non-emotional impulsivity subdimensions. Analyses were based on a total of 150 individuals with bipolar disorders recruited between October 2021 and January 2023. Zero-order correlations found that emotional urgency had the greatest effect on bipolar symptoms (r = 0.37 to 0.44). Multiple two-step hierarchical regression models showed that 1) positive urgency predicted past manic symptomology and dysfunction severity (b = 1.94, p < .001 and 0.35 p < .05 respectively), 2) negative urgency predicted current depression severity, and 3) non-emotional facets of impulsivity had smaller effects on bipolar symptoms and dysfunction by contrast, and were non-significant factors in the final step of all regression models (b < .30, ns); Those who had a history of attempted suicide had significantly greater levels of emotional urgency (Cohen's d = -0.63). Notwithstanding the study's limitations, our findings expand status-quo knowledge beyond the perennial relationship between non-emotion-based impulsivity and bipolar disorder and its implications.