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Alcohol use disorders and problematic drinking are overrepresented in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) compared with the general population. Co-occurring alcohol use disorder and bipolar disorder (BD+AUD) is associated with a host of negative outcomes including less time to remission, greater risk of rapid cycling, number of hospitalizations, and treatment nonadherence. The extant literature has largely concentrated on disentangling whether there are differences in illness trajectory amongst those who had BD onset first followed by AUD or vice versa. However, few studies to our knowledge have examined the temporal associations between dimensional measures of alcohol use, mood symptoms, and their cumulative impact on functioning across the course of bipolar disorder. Identifying temporal associations between alcohol use, mood, and functioning is essential for improved care of individuals with BD+AUD. For example, does a within-person change in alcohol use tend to precipitate a change in depressive or manic symptoms? Does a within-person change in depressive or manic symptoms tend precipitate a change in alcohol use (e.g., self-medication model)? Or, for some people is both true indicating a vicious cycle? Leverage the Prechter Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder, we aim to answer these questions: 1) What are the overall temporal associations between alcohol use and mood in individuals across the bipolar spectrum, 2) Can subgroups of individuals can be identifyied by their temporal associations of alcohol use, and 3) what is the effect of these temporal associations on life functioning over time? Individuals in the Prechter Longitudinal Study completed dimensional measures of alcohol use (AUDIT) and social and occupational functioning (LFQ) as well as clinician rated symptom scales (YMRS, HDRS) every 6 months over the course of participation.