Financial difficulties in bipolar disorder part 1: longitudinal relationships with mental health

Abstract

Background: There has been little research on whether finances affect mental health in bipolar disorder.

Aims: This study aimed to examine the relationship between finances and mental health in bipolar disorder across two time points.

Methods: Fifty-four participants with bipolar disorder in a National Health Service community mental health service completed questionnaires examining financial difficulties, compulsive buying and perceived financial well-being. Questionnaires also measured alcohol dependence, stress, depression, anxiety, past and current manic symptoms.

Results: Partial correlations showed correlations over time: depression, anxiety and stress predicted later compulsive buying. Compulsive buying also predicted later anxiety. Lower perceived financial wellness increased anxiety and stress over time. Being on benefits was associated with higher depression and going without items such as clothes was linked to higher depression, stress, anxiety and past hypomanic symptoms.

Conclusions: Financial difficulties are related to mental health in bipolar disorder. Poor mental health leads to compulsive buying, whereas worry about finances increases anxiety and stress, with a vicious cycle for anxiety.

Keywords:

• Bipolar disorder
• finances
• debt
• compulsive buying

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the staff that referred and those who took part in the study.

Disclosure statement

MJ has no conflicts of interests. CF undertakes a program of research, training, and intervention with financial services organizations on mental health, but this has no direct bearing on the findings reported in this paper. TR has presented some of the results of this study to a finance company, for which money has been donated to a charity. He also presented unpaid to charity and wrote a blog about this research. TR has been paid as a consultant and will receive royalties from a software company for developing an intervention around financial difficulties and mental health which uses insights from his own research including this paper, as well as findings from other published research in the area. TR is a senior advisor to a company which aims to identify and support financially vulnerable customers and he has shares in the company for his role.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded via Research Capability Funding from National Institute for Health Research via Solent NHS Trust.