4.4. Future Directions
This study contributes to the growing body of literature investigating early onset signs of bipolar disorder (BD). It aligns with previous research suggesting that BD has a progressive nature, with psychopathological symptoms appearing before the first full-blown manic episode (Duffy et al., 2019; Vieta et al., 2018). Even though this study bore non-significant results in the comparison of the trauma and the no trauma subgroups, research must be conducted to investigate the impact of interpersonal trauma on early developmental signs of BD. Retrospectively, childhood interpersonal traumatic events have been shown to lead to earlier development and worse prognosis of BD (T. Li et al., 2023b; Palmier-Claus et al., 2016). Therefore, more longitudinal studies are necessary to further explore the progression of BD in at-risk children and to investigate the effect of interpersonal trauma on its development.
Sustaining this line of inquiry is crucial because it provides insight on early developmental sign of BD. Clinicians will need to exercise caution when diagnosing at-risk children or adolescents with depression or anxiety. Furthermore, adapted care, such as psychoeducative and psychosocial interventions, should be administered in such scenarios (Cotton et al., 2020). This could potentially reduce misdiagnoses of individuals manifesting BD and lead to improved prognoses.