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Clinical, personality, and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in borderline personality disorder: a family study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2018

Anthony C. Ruocco Open the ORCID record for Anthony C. Ruocco [Opens in a new window] ,
Alexander R. Daros ,
Jie Chang ,
Achala H. Rodrigo ,
Jaeger Lam ,
Justine Ledochowski  and
Shelley F. McMain
Anthony C. Ruocco*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Alexander R. Daros
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Jie Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Achala H. Rodrigo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Jaeger Lam
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Justine Ledochowski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
Shelley F. McMain
Affiliation:
Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*
Author for correspondence: Anthony C. Ruocco, E-mail: anthony.ruocco@gmail.com
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Abstract

Background

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a heterogeneous clinical phenotype that emerges from interactions among genetic, biological, neurodevelopmental, and psychosocial factors. In the present family study, we evaluated the familial aggregation of key clinical, personality, and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in probands with BPD (n = 103), first-degree biological relatives (n = 74; 43% without a history of psychiatric disorder), and non-psychiatric controls (n = 99).

Methods

Participants were assessed on DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses, symptom dimensions of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity, ‘big five’ personality traits, and neurodevelopmental characteristics, as part of a larger family study on neurocognitive, biological, and genetic markers in BPD.

Results

The most common psychiatric diagnoses in probands and relatives were major depression, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and avoidant personality disorder. There was evidence of familial aggregation for specific dimensions of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation, and the big five traits neuroticism and conscientiousness. Both probands and relatives reported an elevated neurodevelopmental history of attentional and behavioral difficulties.

Conclusions

These results support the validity of negative affectivity- and impulse-spectrum phenotypes associated with BPD and its familial risk. Further research is needed to investigate the aggregation of neurocognitive, neural and genetic factors in families with BPD and their associations with core phenotypes underlying the disorder.

Keywords

Borderline personality disorderemotion dysregulationfamily studyimpulsivityphenotype
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 49 , Issue 12 , September 2019 , pp. 2069 - 2080
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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