The quality of mother-child relationship and borderline personality: The role of mediator object relations

Abstract

Aim: Borderline personality characterized by the instability of interpersonal relationships, self-concept and mood swings is one the most common disorders in clinical settings. Scholars theorizing on object relations, as pioneers of borderline personality, consider borderline personality as a result of childhood trauma, and associated with initial objects. The present paper aims to explain the structural model of borderline personality based upon the quality of mother-child relationships through the mediator role of object relations. Methods: A total of 402 students (184 males and 218 females) at Islamic Azad University of Qom and University of Qom in the first semester of 2013–2014 were selected by stratified random sampling. They completed Borderline Personality Inventory, Bell Object Relations Inventory, and Parent-Child Relationship Scale–Mother. The data were analyzed using SPSS, LISREL, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Results: The quality of the mother-child relationship directly explains 1.44% and through mediating object relations 14.31%, and a total of 15.75% of the variance of borderline personality. Conclusion: Based on these results, the quality of object relations plays a crucial role in mediating mother-child relationship and borderline personality.