The Role of Social Adversity in the Association Between Autistic Traits and Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

Autism and personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder (BPD), demonstrate high levels of co-occurrence. Autistic individuals are more likely to experience social adversity and exhibit heightened reactivity to stressors, while social adversity is a well-established precursor to BPD. The current study investigated the role of social adversity in the association between autistic traits and BPD symptoms, and the moderating role of autistic traits in the association between social adversity and BPD symptoms. Data of 7403 individuals from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in Great Britain were used. Path analysis was conducted to determine whether victimisation and a lack of social support have a role in the association between autistic traits and BPD symptoms. Moderation analysis was applied to assess whether associations of victimisation and a lack of social support with BPD symptoms vary as a function of autistic traits. Analysis was conducted before and after adjustment for sociodemographic covariates. Victimisation and a lack of social support had a role in the relationship between autistic traits and BPD symptoms. Autistic traits moderated the association between victimisation and BPD symptoms, such that the association was greater in individuals with more autistic traits. These observations were robust to adjustment for sociodemographic covariates. The co-occurrence of BPD in autistic individuals may reflect a double vulnerability, characterised by both heightened exposure to social adversity and increased susceptibility to its effects. However, it is important to note that these findings must be viewed as associational pathways rather than causal relationships.