Cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament: diagnostic definitions and assessment tools in developmental age

Abstract

Cyclothymic temperament is one of the affective temperaments and is characterised by continuous and irregular mood fluctuations and a complex emotional, interpersonal and behavioural clinical phenomenology. Contrary to the DSM-5 definition, cyclothymia is better defined in a neurodevelopmental perspective as a pathological variant of cyclothymic temperament. Therefore, the construct of cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament (CHT) was introduced, which seems more clinically valid and describes the coexistence of internalising and externalising symptoms. In adults, cyclothymic temperament is the basic state of bipolar disorder, however, this predictive relationship is still unclear at a developmental age. Most scientific research on CHT has been carried out on the adult population while studies focusing on childhood and adolescence are scarce due to uncertain diagnostic criteria and few assessment instruments available. This paper presents the main theoretical models and empirical evidence from the literature to highlight the theoretical and diagnostic boundaries of CHT in childhood and adolescence, to describe its relationship with other neurodevelopmental psychopathological symptoms, such as emotional dysregulation, and to fill the paucity of studies in the literature devoted to the topic.

doi: 10.53240/2023topic4.042.001