theory of mind in adolescents with bipolar disorder in euthymic phase: ‎using the strange stories test

objective: this study evaluated the theory of mind (tom) in adolescents diagnosed with bipolar disorder ‎‎(bd) during their euthymic period compared to a typically developing (td) group.‎ method: the bd group consisted of thirty 11-18 year old inpatients in euthymic phase. the td ‎group included 30 age, gender, and iq matched volunteer students. to assess the diagnosis and ‎comorbid disorders, we performed the semi-structured interview of the kiddie schedule for affective disorders ‎and schizophrenia-present and lifetime version (k-sads-pl) for the bd adolescents. to ‎evaluate the severity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) and mania, conner's ‎parent rating scale-revised version (cprs-r), and young mania rating scale (ymrs) were ‎used, respectively. ravens progressive matrices was conducted to evaluate intellectual ability in ‎the both groups. happe strange stories test was performed to assess tom in the participants. data were ‎analyzed using the independent t-test, analysis of covariance, and pearson correlation analysis.‎ results: the two groups did not show any differences in comprehending the stories; however, the bd ‎group’s mentalizing scores were significantly weaker than the td group (p<0.05).‎‎ conclusion : the tom impairments in adolescents with bd may be explained as a trait marker which may lead ‎to continuation of social problems even during remission‏.‏