Child abuse as a predictor of Borderline Personality Features

Introduction Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder in clinical populations. However, many people are undiagnosed yet still possess strong Borderline personality features that manifest in their daily lives. Previous studies have found that child maltreatment might be a potential risk factor for the development of BPD and BP features. This study investigates whether higher severity of child abuse can predict higher levels of BPD features, as well as the associations between four BP features and four types of abuse. Methods n=454 respondents from a mixed sample (nonclinical and clinical) completed self-report measures of child abuse and Borderline Personality disorder features in an online survey. A simple linear regression analysis was performed in order to test whether higher overall severity of child abuse predicts higher levels of BPD features. Consequently, a correlational analysis was performed in order to investigate the associations...Show moreIntroduction Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder in clinical populations. However, many people are undiagnosed yet still possess strong Borderline personality features that manifest in their daily lives. Previous studies have found that child maltreatment might be a potential risk factor for the development of BPD and BP features. This study investigates whether higher severity of child abuse can predict higher levels of BPD features, as well as the associations between four BP features and four types of abuse. Methods n=454 respondents from a mixed sample (nonclinical and clinical) completed self-report measures of child abuse and Borderline Personality disorder features in an online survey. A simple linear regression analysis was performed in order to test whether higher overall severity of child abuse predicts higher levels of BPD features. Consequently, a correlational analysis was performed in order to investigate the associations between neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and affective instability, identity diffusion, negative relationships, self-harm. Results & Discussion The analysis revealed that as severity of child abuse increases, levels of Borderline personality features increase as well, suggesting a positive correlation between the two variables. The correlational analysis results supported previous findings in that emotional abuse was the variable with highest positive correlation with BP features. In turn, sexual abuse was the variable with the lowest positive correlations with BP features. No negative correlations were found.Show less

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Child abuse as a predictor of Borderline Personality Features