Emotional Dysregulation, Temperament and Lifetime Suicidal Ideation among Youths with Mood Disorders

Abstract

<i>Background</i>: Psychopathological dimensions contributing to suicidal ideation in young age are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the involvement of emotional dysregulation and temperament in suicide risk in a sample of accurately selected young patients with mood disorders and a matched sample of healthy controls (HC). <i>Methods</i>: We assessed 50 young patients (aged 14-25 years) with DSM-5 bipolar or depressive disorders for clinical and psychopathological characteristics and 82 age and sex, educational level, and smoking habits-matched HC. Emotional dysregulation and temperament were assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A-39), respectively. We tested their associations with suicidal ideation, using standard univariate/bivariate methods, preceded by overall multivariate analysis. <i>Results</i>: In the group of patients, 24 (48%) reported lifetime suicide ideation (LSI). Patients with LSI scored higher on emotional dysregulation (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and cyclothymic (<i>p</i> < 0.001), irritable (<i>p</i> = 0.01), and hyperthymic temperaments (<i>p</i> = 0.003) than HC. Patients with LSI specifically presented with more emotional dysregulation (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and cyclothymic temperament (<i>p</i> = 0.001), than patients without LSI (N = 26). <i>Conclusions</i>: Temperamental features, in particular cyclothymic temperament, and emotion dysregulation may represent independent factors for increased vulnerability to lifetime suicidal ideation in young adults with mood disorders.