Mon May 19 06:30:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article based on the provided summary:
**Personality Testing May Help Personalize Bipolar Disorder Treatment**
ANN ARBOR, MI – A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that personality testing could revolutionize the way bipolar disorder is treated. Researchers have found that identifying specific combinations of personality traits, or “personality styles,” can predict which individuals are more likely to experience recurrent depression or struggle with daily life functioning.
Published in the *Journal of Affective Disorders*, the study analyzed data from over 2,500 individuals with bipolar disorder. The findings indicate that high neuroticism consistently emerged as a risk factor, while low neuroticism and balanced trait profiles appeared to be protective.
“These findings are really exciting because we don’t know why some patients with bipolar disorder are more resilient,” says lead author Kelly Ryan, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist and professor at U-M. “But now we can see that this could be linked to the makeup of their personality.”
The researchers emphasize that the ratio of protective personality styles to risk-elevating styles appears to be crucial. They hope that clinicians can eventually use this information to better tailor treatment plans and patients can use personality tests to understand their experiences and work with clinicians to modify traits that increase their risks.
Challenging the traditional view that personality is fixed, the study suggests that personality traits may be modifiable through therapy or coaching. For example, individuals with low “openness” could be guided to seek new experiences.
“We hope that this can eventually inform the treatment planning that clinicians do for patients, knowing who may be at higher risk,” Ryan said.
The study was funded by the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fund and the Richard Tam Foundation.
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