Reported Personality Traits and Histories of Childhood Maltreatment in Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar 2 Disorder: A Comparative Study.

This study compared borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar 2 disorder (BP 2 disorder) with respect to reported childhood trauma and Five-Factor personality traits using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Participants were 50 men and women, aged 18-45, with DSM-5-diagnosed BPD and 50 men and women in the same age group with DSM-5-diagnosed BP 2 disorder. Participants could not meet criteria for both BPD and BP 2 disorder. Borderline participants had significantly higher scores on the neuroticism subscale and significantly lower scores on the agreeableness subscale of the NEO-FFI. After correction for multiple comparisons, there were no between-group differences on CTQ scores. Study results suggest that BPD and BP 2 disorder differ primarily with respect to underlying temperament/genetic architecture and that environmental factors have only a limited role in the differential etiologies of the two disorders.

Longitudinal description and prediction of physical inactivity among patients with borderline personality disorder and personality-disordered comparison subjects.

BACKGROUND: The physical and psychological benefits of physical activity are well-known, and physical activity has been proven to be a helpful adjunct to psychotherapeutic treatment for many symptomatic disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders. The current study explores physical inactivity levels in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The first aim of this study is to describe the 12-year course of physical inactivity in patients with BPD. The second aim is to examine predictors of physical inactivity, including adversity experiences, comorbid symptomatic (formerly axis I) disorders, medical disorders, and demographic factors. METHODS: Two hundred and forty-five patients with BPD were interviewed seven times over 12-years of prospective follow-up as part of the McLean Study of Adult Development (MSAD). Patients were categorized as ever-recovered (i.e., patient had experienced a symptomatic and psychosocial recovery from BPD) or never-recovered. At each follow-up, patients reported physical activity levels (minutes of exercise per week) via a semi-structured interview- the Medical History and Services Utilization Interview (MHSUI). Data was collected from June 1992 to December 2018. RESULTS: Never-recovered patients with BPD were significantly more inactive than their ever-recovered counterparts (p < 0.001). These rates of inactivity remained stable over time for both groups. Two significant multivariate predictors of inactivity were found: obesity (p = 0.003) and PTSD (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Non-recovered BPD patients are more likely to be inactive than patients who have recovered. Both clinical and medical factors appear to contribute to inactivity levels in patients with BPD.

Experiential avoidance in participants with borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders.

BACKGROUND: The present study has descriptive and predictive aims. The descriptive aims were to determine if participants with borderline personality disorder (BPD) reported higher levels of experiential avoidance (EA) than participants with other personality disorders (OPD) as well as determine if non-recovered participants with BPD reported higher levels of EA than participants with BPD who have recovered symptomatically and psychosocially. The predictive aim was to determine if the level of EA reported by participants with BPD was predicted by the severity of aspects of childhood or adult adversity and/or aspects of temperament. METHODS: The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) was administered to 248 participants at 24-year follow-up in the McLean Study of Adult Development (MSAD). Adversity and temperament were assessed during index admission using interviews (Revised Childhood Experience Questionnaire [CEQ-R], Adult History Interview [AHI], and the NEO-FFI self-report measure). RESULTS: Participants with BPD reported significantly higher levels of EA than those with OPD. Within the BPD group, non-recovered participants reported significantly higher levels of EA than recovered participants. Severity of childhood sexual abuse and lower levels of extraversion were found to be significant multivariate predictors of levels of EA in those with BPD. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results suggest that EA is a serious problem for participants with BPD, particularly those who have not recovered. They also suggest that both the severity of childhood adversity and a temperament marked by lower levels of extroversion are significantly related to levels of EA reported by participants with BPD.

The 8-Year Course of Acute Physical Pain Reported by Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder and Comparison Subjects With Other Personality Disorders.

The present study examines the 8-year course of physical pain and its interference with functioning in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and a comparison group of patients with other personality disorders (other-PD). Participants completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) at five assessments, each separated by 2 years. Results showed that across all 13 domains assessed, participants with BPD reported significantly higher levels of acute physical pain and its functional interference than other-PD comparison subjects. The severity of physical pain and its interference with multiple domains of functioning were relatively stable over 8 years of assessment for both study groups. Within the BPD group, pain was significantly associated with older age, comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD), and history of a physically violent partner. Taken together, these results suggest that physical pain is a serious health issue for individuals with BPD that interferes with functioning across a wide spectrum of areas.

Longitudinal Description and Prediction of Smoking Among Borderline Patients: An 18-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objective: The objectives of this study were (1) to compare smoking between recovered and non-recovered patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) over the course of 18 years and (2) to assess baseline predictors of tobacco use in patients with BPD.Methods: A total of 264 borderline patients were interviewed concerning their smoking history beginning at the 6-year follow-up wave in a longitudinal study of the course of BPD (McLean Study of Adult Development) and re-interviewed at 2-year intervals over the next 18 years. Initial data collection of the larger study happened between June 1992 and December 1995, and the DSM-III-R and the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R) were used as the diagnostic instruments for BPD.Results: Recovered patients had a 48% lower prevalence of smoking than non-recovered patients at 6-year follow-up (a significant difference; P = .01). Also, the rate of decline in smoking for the recovered group was 68% and was significantly faster (P = .008) than for the non-recovered group over the subsequent 18 years. Alcohol abuse or dependence (relative risk [RR] = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.06-1.40; P = .005), lower levels of education (RR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15-1.42; P < .001), and higher levels of the defense mechanism of denial (RR = 1.08; 95% CI, 1.03-1.13; P = .002) were significant predictors of smoking in borderline patients in multivariate analyses.Conclusions: Taken together, the results of this study suggest that recovery status was an important element in the prevalence of smoking among borderline patients over time. They also suggest that smoking was predicted by 3 factors: prior psychopathology, demographics, and psychological maturity.

Course and predictors of social security disability insurance in patients with borderline personality disorder over 24 years of prospective follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is frequent in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and may represent a meaningful marker of a patient's symptom severity, poor psychosocial functioning, and/or inner suffering. Over 24 years of prospective follow-up, the present study aims to describe the course of SSDI and assess the role of clinically relevant predictors. METHODS: A total of 290 inpatients with BPD were interviewed at baseline and 12 consecutive follow-up waves, each separated by two years, after index hospitalization. Included were also 72 inpatients with other personality disorders. Surviving patients were reinterviewed. A series of interviews and self-report measures were used to assess psychosocial functioning and treatment history, axis I and II disorders, and childhood/adult adversity. RESULTS: Results show that rates of SSDI utilization were relatively stable over 24 years of follow-up (on average, 47.2% of the patients with BPD were on SSDI). Patients with BPD were three times more likely to be on SSDI than patients with other PDs. Patients with BPD displayed flexibility in their usage of SSDI. By 24 years, 46% of patients remitted, out of which 85% experienced recurrence and 50% of the patients had a new onset over time. In multivariate analyses, four variables were found to predict SSDI status in patients with BPD over time. These variables were: age 26 or older, lower IQ, severity of non-sexual childhood abuse, and presence of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that a combination of a demographic factors, childhood adversity, natural endowment, and comorbidity are significant predictors of receiving SSDI over time. On a group level, there is a relative stability of SSDI usage over time, but on the individual level, the present study found a high fluctuation in receiving SSDI over 24 months of prospective follow-up.

Pathways to Health Reported by Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder With a Good Overall Outcome Versus a Fair-Poor Outcome Over 24 Years of Prospective Follow-Up.

Our objective was to determine pathways to health reported by patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) who had and had not attained a good overall outcome over 24 years of prospective follow-up. Overall outcome symptomatically and psychosocially and 11 pathways to health related to vocation, relationships, activities, and psychiatric treatment that patients reported were helpful to their functioning or feeling better about themselves were assessed at 12 contiguous 2-year follow-up periods using a semistructured interview. Good outcome patients reported significantly higher rates of pathways related to work performance, relationships with friends, relationship with a partner/spouse, and athletic activities. In contrast, patients with a fair-poor outcome reported significantly higher rates of psychotherapy and psychotropic medication as pathways. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that a good overall outcome is significantly associated with reported vocational, interpersonal, and activity pathways, while a fair-poor outcome is significantly associated with reported treatment-related pathways.

Dissociative experiences of adolescents with borderline personality disorder: description and prediction.

AIMS: The first purpose of this study was to assess the severity of dissociative experiences reported by adolescent inpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The second purpose was to compare the severity of their dissociative symptoms to those reported by a sample of adult inpatients with BPD. The third purpose of this study was to assess a range of clinically meaningful predictors of the severity of dissociation in adolescents and adults with BPD. METHODS: The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) was administered to a total of 89 hospitalized girls and boys aged 13-17 with BPD and 290 adult inpatients with BPD. Predictors of the severity of dissociation in adolescents and adults with BPD were assessed using the Revised Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (a semi-structured interview), the NEO, and the SCID I. RESULTS: Borderline adolescents and adults had non-significant differences on their overall DES scores and subscale scores. They also had a non-significant distribution of low, moderate, and high scores. In terms of multivariate predictors, neither temperament nor childhood adversity was a significant predictor of the severity of dissociative symptoms in adolescents. However, co-occurring eating disorders were found in multivariate analyses to be the only bivariate predictor to significantly predict this outcome. In adults with BPD, however, both the severity of childhood sexual abuse and co-occurring PTSD were significantly related to the severity of dissociative symptoms in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results of this study suggest that the severity of dissociation is not significantly different in adolescents and adults with BPD. However, the etiological factors differ substantially.

Borderline personality disorder symptom networks across adolescent and adult clinical samples: examining symptom centrality and replicability.

BACKGROUND: Numerous theories posit different core features to borderline personality disorder (BPD). Recent advances in network analysis provide a method of examining the relative centrality of BPD symptoms, as well as examine the replicability of findings across samples. Additionally, despite the increase in research supporting the validity of BPD in adolescents, clinicians are reluctant to diagnose BPD in adolescents. Establishing the replicability of the syndrome across adolescents and adults informs clinical practice and research. This study examined the stability of BPD symptom networks and centrality of symptoms across samples varying in age and clinical characteristics. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses of BPD symptoms from semi-structured diagnostic interviews from the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders (CLPS), the Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Service (MIDAS) study, and an adolescent clinical sample. Network attributes, including edge (partial association) strength and node (symptom) expected influence, were compared. RESULTS: The three networks were largely similar and strongly correlated. Affective instability and identity disturbance emerged as relatively central symptoms across the three samples, and relationship difficulties across adult networks. Differences in network attributes were more evident between networks varying both in age and in BPD symptom severity level. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the relative importance of affective, identity, and relationship symptoms, consistent with several leading theories of BPD. The network structure of BPD symptoms appears generally replicable across multiple large samples including adolescents and adults, providing further support for the validity of the diagnosis across these developmental phases.

Parental Reports of Physically Self-Destructive Behavior in the Offspring of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder and Other Personality Disorders.

The main aim of this article is to compare the prevalence of four forms of physically self-destructive behavior in the offspring of parents with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and compare them to the offspring of parents with other personality disorders (OPD). At the 4- and 6-year waves in a prospective study of the long-term course of BPD, participants were asked to report on the self-destructive behaviors of their children using the Childhood Self-Destructiveness Scale. A total of 68 parents were interviewed regarding 131 children, 104 of whom were offspring of parents with BPD (n = 55) and 27 were offspring of parents with OPD (n = 13). BPD parents reported significantly more self-injury and substance abuse in their children than OPD parents. The results from this study suggest that both direct and indirect forms of self-destructive behavior are both more common and quite specific for the children of parents with BPD.

Symptomatic Disorders in Adults and Adolescents With Borderline Personality Disorder.

Symptomatic disorders often co-occur with borderline personality disorder (BPD). This study's purpose was to compare the rates of comorbidity reported by adult and adolescent inpatients with BPD, including complex comorbidity (i.e., a combination of disorders of affect and impulsivity). One hundred four adolescents (aged 13-17) and 290 adults (aged 18-35) with BPD were interviewed using an age-appropriate semistructured interview for the assessment of symptomatic disorders. Lifetime rates of mood disorders and ADHD were quite similar for the two study groups. However, rates of anxiety disorders, including PTSD, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and complex comorbidity were significantly higher among adults than adolescents. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that broadly defined disorders of both affect and impulsivity are more common among adults than adolescents with BPD. They also suggest that a pattern of complex comorbidity is even more distinguishing for these two groups of borderline patients.

Affective and Behavioral Characteristics of Adolescent and Adult Borderline Personality Disorder.

Adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) report greater affective lability, impulsivity, and aggression compared to same-age peers, but no studies have examined whether these findings are replicable among adolescents with BPD and their peers, or whether adolescents and adults with BPD report symptoms of comparable severity. One hundred and one adolescent (age 13-17) BPD inpatients and 60 age-matched, psychiatrically healthy adolescents completed self-report measures for affective lability, impulsivity, and aggression. Comparison samples included 29 and 41 adult outpatients with BPD and 127 community adults with BPD. Adolescents with BPD reported greater severity of all symptoms except nonplanning impulsiveness compared to peers. They reported similar symptom severity to adults but reported less severe verbal aggression and anger. Adolescents with BPD are distinguishable from typically developing adolescents on self-reported, dimensional affective and behavioral symptom measures, and may experience these symptoms at comparable severity to adult counterparts.

Sexual Orientation and Gender of Intimate Relationship Partners Among Adolescents With BPD and Psychiatrically Healthy Adolescents.

The first aim of this study was to describe reported sexual orientation in a group of adolescents diagnosed with borderline personality disorder compared to a group of psychiatrically healthy adolescents. The second purpose was to compare data on dating and gender of dating partners in the same two groups. Two semistructured interviews, which assessed sexual orientation, dating history, and gender of dating partners, were administered to 104 borderline adolescents and 60 psychiatrically healthy comparison subjects. Borderline adolescents were significantly more likely than comparison subjects to report having a gay/lesbian/bisexual orientation. They also were significantly more likely to date and to report dating a same-gender partner or same- and other-gender partners than comparison subjects. The results of this study suggest that same-gender attraction and/or intimate relationships may be an important interpersonal issue for approximately one-third of adolescents with BPD.

Association of Borderline Personality Disorder Criteria With Suicide Attempts: Findings From the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders Over 10 Years of Follow-up.

Importance: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been identified as a strong risk factor for suicidal behavior, including suicide attempts. Delineating specific features that increase risk could inform interventions. Objective: To examine factors associated with prospectively observed suicide attempts among participants in the Collaborative Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders (CLPS), over 10 years of follow-up, with a focus on BPD and BPD criteria. Design, Setting, and Participants: The CLPS is a multisite, naturalistic, prospective study of adult participants with 4 personality disorders (PDs) and a comparison group of adults with major depressive disorder and minimal PD features. Participants were all treatment-seeking and recruited from inpatient, partial, and outpatient treatment settings across New York, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, New Haven, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island. A total of 733 participants were recruited at baseline, with 701 completing at least 1 follow-up assessment. The cohorts were recruited from September 1996 through April 1998 and September 2001 through August 2002. Data for this study using this follow-up sample (N = 701) were analyzed between March 2019 and August 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: Participants were assessed annually using semistructured diagnostic interviews and a variety of self-report measures for up to 10 years. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine baseline demographic and clinical risk factors, including BPD and individual BPD criteria, of suicide attempt assessed over 10 years of prospective follow-up. Results: Of the 701 participants, 447 (64%) identified as female, 488 (70%) as White, 527 (75%) as single, 433 (62%) were unemployed, and 512 (73%) reported at least some college education. Of all disorders, BPD emerged as the most robust factor associated with prospectively observed suicide attempt(s) (odds ratio [OR], 4.18; 95% CI, 2.68-6.52), even after controlling for significant demographic (sex, employment, and education) and clinical (childhood sexual abuse, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder) factors. Among BPD criteria, identity disturbance (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.37-3.56), chronic feelings of emptiness (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.03-2.57), and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.17-3.16) emerged as significant independent factors associated with suicide attempt(s) over follow-up, when covarying for other significant factors and BPD criteria. Conclusions and Relevance: In the multisite, longitudinal study of adults with personality disorders, identity disturbance, chronic feelings of emptiness, and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment were significantly associated with suicide attempts. Identity disturbance, chronic feelings of emptiness, and frantic efforts to avoid abandonment may be clinically overlooked features of BPD in context of suicide risk assessment. In light of the high rates of BPD diagnostic remission, our findings suggest that these criteria should be independently assessed and targeted for further study as suicide risk factors.

Levels of Depersonalization and Derealization Reported by Recovered and Non-recovered Borderline Patients Over 20 Years of Prospective Follow-up.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious psychiatric illness, and it is often associated with dissociative symptoms. The purpose of this study was to assess the course of depersonalization and derealization symptoms in recovered and non-recovered borderline patients over 20 years of prospective follow-up. The Dysphoric Affect Scale (DAS) - a 50-item self-report measure was administered to 290 borderline inpatients at baseline, and the remaining participants (85%) at 10 follow-up interviews conducted over 20 years. The level of depersonalization and derealization experienced by borderline patients was assessed using three items (feeling unreal, feeling completely numb, and feeling like people and things aren't real) from the DAS. The patients who recovered from BPD reported significantly lower scores in all three inner states (62 - 63%) at baseline compared to those patients who did not recover. Furthermore, scores of recovered and non-recovered groups decreased significantly in all three inner states studied over 20 years of prospective follow-up. Overall, these results suggest that the severity of depersonalization and derealization symptoms decreased significantly over 20 years of prospective follow-up and had a strong association with BPD recovery status.

Parameters of reported childhood sexual abuse and assault in adolescents and adults with borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research has demonstrated a link between childhood sexual abuse and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescents and adults and has indicated that more severe abuse is related to poorer psychosocial functioning. The present study describes the overall severity of sexual abuse/assault in adolescents and adults with BPD and compares both groups on specific parameters of abusive and assaultive experiences. METHODS: Participants included 104 adolescent (aged 13-17 years) inpatients with BPD and 290 adult inpatients with BPD. All participants completed two interviews that assessed the presence and severity of sexual abuse/assault. RESULTS: Of the studied patients with BPD, 26.0% of adolescents and 62.4% of adults reported a childhood history of sexual abuse/assault before the age of 18. Adults had higher scores on an index of sexual abuse severity than adolescents, and a higher proportion of adults reported scores in the severe range. Adults with BPD were also more likely than adolescents to report having experienced sexual abuse/assault that occurred at multiple developmental stages, was frequent (i.e. weekly basis or more), was longer in duration (i.e. a year or more) and was perpetrated by a parent. The groups did not differ on other parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results suggest that adults with BPD are more likely to report childhood sexual abuse/assault than adolescents with BPD. Additionally, adults report histories of sexual abuse/assault that are more severe than adolescents with BPD, with specific differences observed in timing, frequency, duration and perpetrator. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Risk Factors for Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents.

The objective of this study was to assess the association between variables reflecting childhood adversity, protective childhood experiences, and the five-factor model of personality and BPD in adolescents. Two groups of adolescents were studied: 104 met criteria for BPD and 60 were psychiatrically healthy. Adverse and protective childhood experiences were assessed using a semistructured interview. The five-factor model of personality was assessed using the NEO-FFI. Eight of nine variables indicating severity of abuse and neglect, positive childhood relationships, childhood competence, and the personality factors studied were found to be significant bivariate risk factors for adolescent BPD. However, in a multivariate model, severity of neglect, higher levels of neuroticism, and lower levels of childhood competence were found to be the best risk factor model. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that all three types of risk factors studied are significantly associated with BPD in adolescents.

Levels of Acceptance and Forgiveness Reported by Patients With BPD and Personality-Disordered Comparison Subjects Over 20 Years of Prospective Follow-Up.

This study had two objectives: to determine the levels of acceptance and forgiveness reported by patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and personality-disordered comparison subjects and by recovered versus non-recovered patients with BPD over 20 years of prospective follow-up. Levels of acceptance and forgiveness were reassessed every 2 years. Patients with BPD reported levels of these states that were approximately 70% lower than comparison subjects at baseline. These states increased significantly over time for patients with BPD but not for comparison subjects. Recovered patients with BPD reported approximately three times the levels of these states than non-recovered patients with BPD. These levels increased for both groups over time; one state (accepting of myself) increased at a significantly steeper rate for recovered patients with BPD. These results suggest that patients with BPD report becoming more accepting and forgiving over time. Additionally, recovery status is significantly associated with increasing time in these states.

Perceived Caretaker Malevolence During Childhood Reported by Borderline Patients and Personality-Disordered Comparison Subjects: Description and Prediction.

This study has two purposes. The first is to assess the rates of childhood malevolence by caretakers reported by a well-defined sample of inpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and comparison subjects with other personality disorders. The second purpose is to determine the relationship between reported malevolence of caretakers and possible risk factors for this experience. Two reliable interviews were administered to 290 borderline inpatients and 72 personality-disordered comparison subjects to address these aims. Malevolence was reported by a significantly higher percentage of borderline patients than comparison subjects (58% vs. 33%). In multivariate analyses, severity of other forms of abuse, severity of neglect, and a family history of a dramatic cluster personality disorder were found to significantly predict perceived malevolence. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that experiencing malevolence is common and distinguishing for BPD, and that the risk factors for reported childhood malevolence are multifactorial in nature.