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Does childhood trauma cause personality disorders in adults?
1McGill University, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Montreal, Quebec.
Objective:
To examine the relationship between trauma in childhood and personality disorders in adulthood.
Method:
A review of the literature was conducted.
Results:
The reported associations between trauma and personality pathology are illuminated by the following research findings: 1) personality is heritable; 2) only a minority of patients with severe personality disorders report childhood trauma; and 3) children are generally resilient, and traumatic experiences do not consistently lead to psychopathology.
Conclusions:
The role of trauma in the personality disorders is best understood in the context of gene-environment interactions.