Abstract

The social and occupational functioning of people with Bipolar Disorder (BD) has been the focus of previous research, but this ignores people who may be functioning exceptionally or well. To help with applied research and practice in this area, this paper presents the first systematic review of how functioning is measured and the range of functioning observed in BD. Six measures the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST), the Social and Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFAS), the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS), and the LIFE-Range of Impaired Functioning (LIFE-RIFT) were arranged in accordance with the frequency of use over the past ten years from studies reporting use of a social and/or occupational functioning measure in BD. Crossstudy values for each measure were obtained by pooling descriptive statistics of sample scores. It is estimated that approximately 16% of people with BD function at a high level, which is defined as being within two standard deviations of the mean score on each measure. Some measures have a ceiling effect, which suggests that BD functioning might have been underestimated when the measures were made. Higher functioning in people with BD and factors that may support this are the subject of future research. Significant mood swings, from severe depression to extreme mania and irritability, are hallmarks of bipolar disorder (BD), which is frequently accompanied by difficulties in daily life.