In search of psychological markers of bipolar manic-depressive illness (BMDI): commonalities in psychological functioning between adult euthymic BMDI patients and offspring of BMDI-affected parents.

Detection of probable psychological trait markers of Bipolar Manic Depressive Illness (BMDI) was attempted by conducting two investigations: in the first, Rorschach behavior of adult euthymic BMDI patients was compared with normal control subjects; in the second, Rorschach behavior of nonclinical children of BMDI patients was compared with matched normal controls. Comparison of investigation results revealed psychological characteristics shared by both adult euthymic BMDI patients and clinically-tested children of BMDI-affected parents, including: 1) impaired synthetic functioning; 2) complexity avoidance; 3) experiential and ideational constriction; 4) impaired perceptual accuracy and thought disorder: 5) low conventionalism; and 6) impaired object relatedness.