Response styles, bipolar risk, and mood in students: The Behaviours Checklist

Objectives - An Integrative Cognitive Model of mood swings and bipolar disorder proposes that extreme positive and negative appraisals about internal states trigger ascent and descent behaviours, contributing to the onset and maintenance of mood swings. This study investigated the reliability and validity of a new inventory, the Behaviours Checklist (BC), by measuring associations with appraisals, response styles to positive and negative affect, bipolar risk, mania, and depression. Design - Correlational analogue study. Methods - Students (N = 134) completed the BC alongside measures of appraisals, response styles to positive and negative mood, mania, depression, and hypomanic personality (bipolar risk). Results - The BC was of adequate reliability and showed good validity. Ascent behaviours and appraisals predicted bipolar risk, whereas descent behaviours and appraisals were associated with depression. Conclusions - Appraisals, ascent, and descent behaviours may play an important role in the development and maintenance of mood swings. Limitations and research recommendations are outlined.