The initial prodrome of BD is characterized by dysregulation of mood and energy. Because of the apparently low specificity of prodromal symptoms and signs of BD, it is currently neither possible nor advisable to predict the development of BD based solely on early phenomenology. More well-designed in-depth studies, including qualitative ones, are needed to characterize the initial bipolar prodrome.

PurposeAdverse childhood experiences in sensitive periods of the developing brain render the individual at a life-long risk for a broad spectrum of aberrant health outcomes. However, there is a lack of scales for the comprehensive assessment of adverse childhood experiences providing information of various types and the age of occurrence. Based on the complete, experimental version of the Maltreatment and abuse chronology of exposure (MACE-X) scale, the present study aimed to develop and psychometrically test a Norwegian version of MACE. MethodsThe 75-item MACE-X was translated from German to Norwegian and administered as a self-report measure to 90 outpatients and 145 employees at a Division of specialized mental health care in South-Eastern Norway. The outpatients also completed the Childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and the Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) to investigate convergent and predictive validity. To investigate test-retest reliability, outpatients completed MACE once more two weeks later. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Fosse R, Skjelstad DV, Schalinski I, Thekkumthala D, Elbert T, Aanondsen CM, et al. (2020) Measuring childhood maltreatment: Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) scale. PLoS ONE 15(2): e0229661. https://doi.org/10.good to excellent for 10 subscale scores (ICC � 0.82). Convergent validity with the CTQ was moderate to high for both total scores (0.63 � r � 0.86) and subscale scores (0.56 � r � 0.82). As compared to CTQ total scores, a MACE total score that combined severity and duration of exposure was numerically more strongly associated with overall psychiatric symptoms and each of nine symptom domains on the SCL-90. ConclusionsThe newly developed Norwegian MACE comprehensively assesses past exposure to adverse childhood experiences with high psychometric properties. This scale is a useful tool for research questions addressing sensitive periods for childhood adversities and associated health phenotypes.Norwegian MACE PLOS ONE | https://doi.� MACE SxD = combined Sum and Duration score, see Methods. The MACE score was significantly (p�0.05) higher than the concomitant CTQ score in a 1 two-sided Z-test (Z �1.96) or in a 2 one-sided Z-test (Z �1.65). The associations with SCL-90 variables were compared for (i) each of MACE SxD and MACE sum with CTQ sum, and (ii) MACE multi with CTQ multi. GSI = Global severity index. PST = Positive symptom total. & Mean of participant average item scores for each SCL-90 subscale ("subscale GSI scores").

Background Women with bipolar disorder (BD) have a high risk of illness relapse postpartum. The risk coincides with the period when mother-infant interactions are evolving. We compared mother-infant interactions in dyads where the mothers have BD with dyads where the mothers have no mental disorder. The association between concurrent affective symptoms of BD mothers and interaction quality was investigated. Methods Twenty-six women with BD and 30 comparison women with infants were included. The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) was used to assess maternal behaviour, infant behaviour and dyadic coordination in interactions at 3 months postpartum. The Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology and Young Mania Rating Scale were used to assess affective symptoms of BD mothers at the time of interaction. Results There were significant group differences with medium to large effect sizes (0.73–1.32) on five of six subscales within the three interactional domains. Most interactional concerns were identified in dyadic coordination. No significant associations were found between maternal symptom load and interaction quality within the BD sample. Forty-six percent of the BD mothers experienced a mood episode within 0–3 months postpartum. Conclusions The present study identified challenges for mothers with BD and their infants in “finding” each other in interaction at 3 months postpartum. If sustained, this interaction pattern may have a long-term impact on children’s development. We suggest interventions specifically focusing on sensitising and supporting mothers to read infants’ cues on a micro-level. This may help them to respond contingently and improve dyadic coordination and synchronicity.