Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the level of shame and guilt and its potential relation with affective temperaments in euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder.
Method : Thirty euthymic bipolar patients and 43 healthy controls were assessed with two questionnaires to measure moral emotions, the Personal Feeling Questionnaire (PFQ) and the Test of Self-Conscious Affect and the Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Auto-questionnaire.
Results : Bipolar patients showed significantly higher level of guilt in PFQ than healthy controls (p=0.02). The ratings of cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments were significantly correlated with the scores of shame and guilt in the both groups. In the control group, the levels of guilt and shame were positively correlated with depressive temperament, whereas the levels of moral emotions were negatively correlated with hyperthymic temperament. However, no significant correlations between two emotions and depressive and hyperthymic temperaments were found in the bipolar group.
Conclusion : These findings suggest that euthymic bipolar patients maintain the high level of internalized shame and guilt despite normal mood status. The relations of moral emotion with temperaments may be helpful in therapeutic intervention for bipolar disorder.