Phenomenological predictors of psychosocial function in bipolar disorder: Is there evidence that social cognitive and emotion regulation abnormalities contribute?

Abstract

Objectives: Neurocognitive ability and mood have often been discussed as contributing mechanisms to the severe psychosocial dysfunction experienced in bipolar disorder (BD). In contrast, there has been little discussion on the contribution of social cognition or emotion regulation. This paper aims to assert a potential role for these constructs in psychosocial functioning in BD, with an overarching goal to highlight the necessary importance of considering them in future research examining psychosocial outcomes in the disorder. Methods: This paper provides a theoretical synthesis of available and indirect evidence for an influence of (1) social cognition and (2) emotion regulation on psychoso..