Cognitive Correlates of Borderline Personality Disorder Features in Youth with Bipolar Spectrum Disorders and Bipolar...

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) share common cognitive impairments. These deficits are also shared by bipolar offspring (BD-OFF). Nevertheless, little is known regarding the association between cognitive impairments and BPD features in youth with BD and BD-OFF. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between BPD features and cognitive impairments in youth with BD and BD-OFF. Methods: Thirty-nine participants (7-17 years) with BD, 18 BD-OFF, and 50 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. BPD features were assessed using the Borderline Personality Features Scale for Children (BPFS-C). Deficits in executive functions and affective processing were assessed using tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), namely, the Cambridge gambling task (CGT), the stockings of Cambridge (SOC), and the Affective Go/No-Go (AGN) and rapid visual processing (RVP) tasks. Between-group differences were analyzed through ANOVAs. Relationships between the BPFS-C and cognitive tasks were examined using multiple linear regressions in youth with BD and BD-OFF. Results: Youth with BD and BD-OFF showed higher scores on the BPFS-C. Youth with BD had increased deficits in the CGT and SOC compared to HCs. In both youth with BD and BD-OFF, BPD features were associated with increased deficits in the CGT, and a bias toward positive emotions in the AGN task. Conclusions: In youth with BD and BD-OFF, clinical and cognitive assessments for BPD features are of relevance as they have the potential to inform targeted interventions.