Interpersonal Problems in Parents and Adolescent Borderline Personality Disorder Features

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Parental personality pathology is linked to offspring's borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and internalizing/externalizing symptoms.
• Previous studies relied on DSM-IV assessments, limiting a comprehensive understanding of parental personality pathology.
• The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders highlights interpersonal problems, aligning with the Interpersonal Circumplex framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between parental interpersonal problems and adolescent borderline features.
• To determine if this association persists independently of offspring internalizing/externalizing symptoms, age, and gender.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a measure of interpersonal problems to assess parental personality pathology, aligning with DSM-5 Criterion A.
• Examined a sample of 524 inpatient adolescents and their parents.
• Employed statistical analyses to explore unique relationships between parental factors and adolescent outcomes.

Main Results:

• Parental interpersonal problems showed significant unique associations with adolescent borderline features.
• Parental interpersonal problems were also uniquely related to adolescent externalizing symptoms.
• No significant unique association was found between parental interpersonal problems and adolescent internalizing symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Parental interpersonal problems represent a significant correlate of adolescent borderline features and externalizing symptoms.
• This study provides a novel approach to assessing parental personality pathology using interpersonal dynamics.
• Findings underscore the importance of considering interpersonal functioning in families when addressing adolescent psychopathology.