Adult Personality Disorder Symptoms Research Articles

Presentation of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms in Adulthood: Development of Depression Mediates the Effect of Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Violence.

Past research has linked the development of borderline personality disorder to earlier exposure to violence. However, the causal link by which this relationship exists has not yet been fully identified. The present study sought to examine how exposure to violence predicted heterogeneity in the development of depressive systems and results in the arousal of borderline personality disorder symptoms in adulthood. The Pathways to Desistance data were used in the analyses. This data set consisted of the responses of 1354 juvenile offenders followed across 7 years. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify latent trajectories of depressive symptoms. Ordinary least squares regression was used to model covariate effects on borderline personality disorder symptoms in adulthood. Results indicated that a three-group depression trajectory model best fit the data. Direct victimization early in life was associated with increased borderline personality disorder symptoms in adulthood. When trajectory group assignment was accounted for in the model, the relationship between direct victimization and borderline personality disorder symptoms was attenuated by around 30%. Implications are discussed.

The effect of positive childhood experiences on adult personality psychopathology

Most of the current literature on the subject focuses on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and adult personality psychopathology; however, as far as is known, there is no research investigating the relationship between positive childhood experiences and adult personality disorder symptoms. The present study aims to highlight the association between positive childhood experiences and adult personality psychopathology. To investigate this association, 341 participants were recruited for this study, in which the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale, the Benevolent Childhood Experiences Scale and the Coolidge Axis II Inventory Plus were used. Stepwise linear regressions supported the position that despite the presence of adverse childhood experiences, there are independent relationships between positive childhood experiences and 11 out of 14 personality disorder symptoms (Antisocial, Avoidant, Borderline, Dependent, Depressive, Obsessive-Compulsive, Paranoid, Passive-Aggressive, Schizoid, Schizotypal and Self-defeating Personality Disorder (PD) symptoms). Results did not support an independent relationship between positive childhood experiences and histrionic, sadistic or narcissistic personality disorder traits. The results of the study illuminate how positive childhood experiences may counteract long-term effects of childhood adversity.

Childhood risk factors for personality disorder symptoms related to violence

Abstract Objectives This study investigated the relations between childhood risk factors, adult personality disorder symptoms, and violence convictions up to age 61. Method Data was used from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal study of 411 males from South London who were regularly interviewed between ages 8 and 48. In this sample, childhood risk factors were assessed, along with DSM-IV Axis-II personality disorders, and violence convictions. Results Findings confirm and extend previous results indicating associations between several different personality disorder symptoms and violence. Particularly, symptoms of cluster A and cluster B personality disorders at age 48 were most strongly associated with lifetime violent acts. Results also support the hypothesis that adult personality disorder symptoms are predicted by exposure to childhood traumatic experiences, including family breakdown, parental neglect, and physical as well as emotional abuse. Conclusion Families and schools seem to be particularly crucial environments which may influence the development of personality disorders and behavioral problems such as violence. More prospective longitudinal studies are needed to further disentangle the complex interactions between psychosocial family factors, personality disorders and violent behavior and to further explore their underlying mechanisms in order to inform more effective intervention programs.

Childhood malnutrition and maltreatment are linked with personality disorder symptoms in adulthood: Results from a Barbados lifespan cohort

Both childhood malnutrition and maltreatment are associated with mental health problems that can persist into adulthood. Previously we reported that in Barbados, those with a history of infant malnutrition were more likely to report having experienced childhood maltreatment. Few studies, however, address the long-term outcomes of those who have been exposed to both. We assessed the unique and combined associations of a history of early malnutrition and childhood maltreatment with personality pathology in mid-adulthood in participants of the 47-year longitudinal Barbados Nutrition Study. We used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis II Personality Disorders Personality Questionnaire (SCID-II-PQ) and NEO Personality Inventory-Revised derived Five-Factor Model (NEO PI-R FFM) personality disorder (PD) scores to assess personality pathology, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) to assess childhood maltreatment, and clinical documentation of malnutrition in infancy. We tested the associations of malnutrition and maltreatment with PD scores using linear regression models, unadjusted and adjusted for other childhood adversities. We found increased scores for paranoid, schizoid, avoidant, and dependent PDs among those who had been malnourished and increased scores for paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, and avoidant PDs among those with higher childhood maltreatment scores. Overall, those exposed to both adversities had even greater PD scores.

Affect dysregulation, adult attachment problems, and dissociation mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and borderline personality disorder symptoms in adulthood

IntroductionBoth borderline personality disorder (BPD) and childhood trauma have been shown to be associated with affect dysregulation, dissociation, and fear-based attachment schemas. However, the inter-relationships of these clinical phenomena have not been studied in unison. ObjectiveTo study the interrelations between childhood psychological trauma and adult BPD mediated by dissociation, attachment schemas, and affect dysregulation in unison while differentiating for inhibitory- and excitatory regulation symptoms. MethodAdult chronic psychiatric patients with BPD, BPD with comorbid somatoform disorder, and two psychiatric control groups with SoD-only, or chronic anxiety or affective disorders com-pleted structured interviews and self reports. Affect dysregulation, fear-based attachment schemas and dissociation were tested simultaneously -in their separate inhibitory- and excitatory form- as potential mediators in the relationship between childhood psychological trauma and BPD symptoms in adulthood. Next, two alternative models partitioning childhood trauma into more specific features as source (primary-caretaker or not), or type i.e. emotional-, physical-, or sexual abuse, while differentiating for developmental epochs, were compared to the original model. Analyses were re-run for participants who report more severe symptoms that meet criteria for a BPD diagnosis. ResultsStructured equation modeling with bootstrap 95% confidence intervals revealed that hallmark features of BPD – affect dysregulation involving extreme emotional intensity and lability (under-regulation), fragmentation of consciousness (positive psychoform dissociation; e.g., flashbacks), and core attachment fears of closeness and abandonment – partially account for the relationship between overall childhood trauma and BPD-symptom severity. The unifying theme for these mediators is excitatory dysregulation. Alternative models distinguishing types and nature of trauma did not fit the data. However, adults who report more severe symptoms that meet criteria for a BPD diagnosis were likely to have experienced sexual trauma in early childhood or adolescence, and to have an intense fear of abandonment, with the path from early childhood sexual trauma to BPD symptoms as strongest direct relationship. ConclusionRelationships between overall childhood trauma and BPD symptoms in adulthood through three mediators i.e., affect dysregulation, fear-based attachment schemas and dissociation were found, over alternative models distinguishing types of perpetrator, nature of trauma, and developmental epoch. These findings contribute to and replicate a substantial research base that highlights sexual trauma in early childhood and severe attachment insecurity (and disorganization) as contributors to adult BPD. Prospective studies are needed to elucidate the complex relationships between childhood trauma and BPD.

Transactional processes in the development of adult personality disorder symptoms.

The development of adult personality disorder symptoms, including transactional processes of relationship representational and behavioral experience from infancy to early adolescence, was examined using longitudinal data from a risk sample (N = 162). Significant preliminary correlations were found between early caregiving experience and adult personality disorder symptoms and between representational and behavioral indices across time and adult symptomatology. Significant correlations were also found among diverse representational assessments (e.g., interview, drawing, and projective narrative) and between concurrent representational and observational measures of relationship functioning. Path models were analyzed to investigate the combined relations of caregiving experience in infancy; relationship representation and experience in early childhood, middle childhood, and early adolescence; and personality disorder symptoms in adulthood. The hypothesized model representing interactive contributions of representational and behavioral experience represented the data significantly better than competing models representing noninteractive contributions. Representational and behavioral indicators mediated the link between early caregiving quality and personality disorder symptoms. The findings extend previous studies of normative development and support an organizational developmental view that early relationship experiences contribute to socioemotional maladaptation as well as adaptation through the progressive transaction of mutually informing expectations and experience.

Association of childhood-trauma-by-primary caregiver and affect dysregulation with borderline personality disorder symptoms in adulthood.

Potentially traumatizing experiences by a primary caregiver during childhood (TPC) may lead to affect dysregulation, which is a hallmark of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adulthood. Path analyses with bootstrap confidence intervals were used to explore the relationships of TPC and under- and overregulation of affect to BPD symptoms. Almost 63% of a sample of 472 patients diagnosed with either BPD alone, comorbid BPD + somatoform disorder, or other mental disorder, reported childhood TPC. TPC and underregulation of affect were associated with severity of BPD symptoms, but overregulation was not. Underregulation of affect partially mediated the relationship between TPC and BPD symptoms. Study findings suggest that also addressing underregulation of affect as a sequela of TPC rather than as only on feature of BPD, may enhance treatment of BPD symptoms. Research is needed to determine if targeting overregulation of affect, next to TPC and underregulation of affect, enhances the efficacy of treatment for severe BPD symptoms with childhood TPC and with comorbid other mental disorders, especially somatoform disorder.

Childhood maltreatment and adult personality disorder symptoms in a non-clinical sample

It can be argued that the well-substantiated relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult personality disorder (PD) symptoms may be confounded by comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety or dysfunctional childhood family environments. Therefore, the current study was designed to test the hypothesis that retrospective reports of childhood maltreatment would still be significantly related to reports of more PD symptoms when statistically controlling for these factors. One hundred and seventy-eight non-clinical participants were divided into groups reporting childhood maltreatment (n = 54) or not (n = 124) according to scores on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Participants also completed questionnaires measuring current depression, anxiety, and PD symptoms as well as retrospective reports of their childhood environment. Results showed that individuals reporting childhood maltreatment reported more symptoms of PD than those not reporting childhood maltreatment, even when statistically controlling for depression, anxiety and retrospective reports of dysfunctional family environment. These findings underscore the relevance and independent contribution of childhood maltreatment to the development of PDs, with important implications for further research and clinical practice.

Childhood maltreatment and adult personality disorder symptoms: Influence of maltreatment type

The present study examines the effects of different types of childhood maltreatment on personality disorder symptoms in a sample of adults with no Axis I psychopathology. Participants reporting a history of moderate to severe maltreatment on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ( n = 70) were grouped by type of abuse and compared with a non-abused group ( n = 35) with regard to the number of personality disorder symptoms endorsed. Physical/sexual abuse and emotional abuse/neglect each were associated with elevated symptoms of all three personality disorder clusters. Elevated symptoms of several specific personality disorders were also seen, including paranoid, borderline, avoidant, dependent, obsessive–compulsive, and depressive personality disorder. There were no significant differences between the maltreatment groups. These findings indicate that emotional abuse/neglect and physical/sexual abuse are risk factors for a broad array of personality outcomes in a non-clinical sample.

The Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Adult Personality Disorder Symptoms

This study assessed personality disorder symptomatology in a community sample of healthy adults without diagnosable DSM-IV-TR Axis I psychiatric disorders who reported a history of childhood abuse. Twenty-eight subjects with a history of moderate to severe physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse according to the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were compared to 33 subjects without an abuse history on symptoms of personality disorders. Subjects in the Abuse group were more likely to report subclinical symptoms of paranoid, narcissistic, borderline, antisocial, obsessive compulsive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorders. These findings link reports of childhood abuse with symptoms of personality disorders in the absence of Axis I psychiatric disorders in a community sample of healthy adults.