A comparison of nonpatient and bipolar patient-well spouse couples.

The authors compared responses of 16 couples, in which one partner had a diagnosis of remitted bipolar illness, to a lengthy self-report questionnaire (KDS-15) designed to assess many aspects of marital adjustment with those of 16 matched nonpatient couples. The bipolar patient-well spouse couples had marital adjustments closely resembling those of the nonpatient couples; three of four global ratings of satisfaction failed to discriminate between the two groups. Perceptions of the courtship, first year of marriage, and the degree to which the marriage had met expectations were also similar for both groups.