Matthewson, Jennifer and Jones, Steven and Haddock, Gillian and Tyler, Elizabeth (2025) Developing and evaluating a questionnaire to assess personal recovery experiences in older people with bipolar disorder. journal of affective disorders reports: 101005. ISSN 2666-9153 (In Press)
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Background Despite evidence that the mental health experiences of older adults are qualitatively different to those of younger adults, little research has investigated the recovery preferences of people aged 60 years and over (Chen et al, 2027). This paper presents the first measure of personal recovery developed specifically for older adults with bipolar disorder (BD). Methods Collaboration with older adults who had lived experience of BD, clinicians and academics supported the development of the Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire for Older Adults (BRQ-OA). A total of 55 participants aged 60+ (mean=66.98, SD=8.19) with a diagnosis of BD completed the BRQ-OA alongside symptom and quality of life measures. The BRQ-OA was completed again four weeks later. It was hypothesised that the BRQ-OA would be a reliable and valid measure of personal recovery. Results The BRQ-OA had good internal consistency, and scores were reliable over a 4-week period. Scores on the BRQ-OA were significantly associated with lower depression and mania scores and higher scores on quality of life and functioning measures. Limitations Small sample size restricted understanding of factors underlying the BRQ-OA. Participants were primarily White British with high levels of education, therefore generalisability to other groups is unclear. Conclusions Findings indicate the BRQ-OA is a reliable and valid measure of personal recovery for older adults with BD. Scores are significantly associated with factors commonly defined as part of personal recovery. This is the first mental health measure designed with and for older adults to support the use of recovery-focused approaches in clinical practice and research.