Mind the Fathers: Associations of Parental Childhood Adversities With Borderline Personality Disorder Pathology in Female Adolescents

Previous research revealed significant relations between the experience of childhood adversity (CA) and the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adulthood. However, it is still uncertain whether parental CA could have a transgenerational association with adolescent BPD. We investi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality disorders 2017-12, Vol.31 (6), p.827-843
Main Authors: Reichl, Corinna, Brunner, Romuald, Fuchs, Anna, Holz, Birger, Parzer, Peter, Fischer-Waldschmidt, Gloria, Resch, Franz, Kaess, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adverse childhood experiences
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder - epidemiology
Borderline Personality Disorder - etiology
Family Environment
Fathers
Female
Females
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Parents - psychology
Pathology
Personality disorders
Personality Problems
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teenagers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Previous research revealed significant relations between the experience of childhood adversity (CA) and the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adulthood. However, it is still uncertain whether parental CA could have a transgenerational association with adolescent BPD. We investigated associations between parents' CA (antipathy, neglect, physical abuse) and BPD traits within a clinical adolescent sample and tested for mediating variables. The sample consists of 91 female inpatients, along with 84 mothers and 59 fathers. Adolescent BPD traits were assessed using the BPD module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID-II). Adolescent and parental CA and parental subclinical BPD traits were measured using validated self-report questionnaires (CECA.Q; PSSI). The findings revealed significant associations between parental CA and adolescent BPD traits, which were partially mediated by parental subclinical BPD traits and by paternal but not maternal CA. The results underline that early intervention of BPD must target the family environment, including fathers.
ISSN:0885-579X
1943-2763
DOI:10.1521/pedi_2017_31_289