ABSTRACT
Adult criteria for borderline personality disorder distinguished a group of 27 inpatient adolescent girls from 23 nonborderline inpatient female comparison subjects. The two groups were compared on retrospectively assessed variables measuring psychological, familial, and constitutional factors. Variables most likely to predict borderline personality disorder included history of disrupted attachments, maternal neglect, maternal rejection, grossly inappropriate parental behavior, number of mother and father surrogates, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Families of borderline adolescents were chronically disrupted, particularly during the patients' early childhoods. The traumatic childhood experiences of the borderline adolescents were similar to those of adults with borderline personality disorder in recent studies.
Subject(s)
Borderline Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Adolescent , Adult , Borderline Personality Disorder/psychology , Child , Child Abuse/diagnosis , Child Abuse, Sexual/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Divorce , Family , Female , Humans , Life Change Events , Male , Maternal Deprivation , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/genetics , Mental Disorders/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Paternal Deprivation , Retrospective Studies , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Recent investigations suggest that a history of childhood sexual abuse may be associated with borderline personality disorder. This study compares a group of female adolescents diagnosed as borderline with a control group for history of physical and sexual abuse. History of both forms of abuse, particularly sexual, distinguishes the two groups. Results point to the impact of repeated trauma on character structure, cognitive functioning, and Axis II symptomatology.
