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Borderline personality features in childhood: The role of subtype, developmental timing, and chronicity of child maltreatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Kathryn F. Hecht ,
Dante Cicchetti ,
Fred A. Rogosch  and
Nicki R. Crick
Kathryn F. Hecht*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
Dante Cicchetti*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center
Fred A. Rogosch
Affiliation:
University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center
Nicki R. Crick
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kathryn F. Hecht or Dante Cicchetti, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: hecht022@umn.edu or cicchett@umn.edu.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kathryn F. Hecht or Dante Cicchetti, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: hecht022@umn.edu or cicchett@umn.edu.
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Abstract

Child maltreatment has been established as a risk factor for borderline personality disorder (BPD), yet few studies consider how maltreatment influences the development of BPD features through childhood and adolescence. Subtype, developmental timing, and chronicity of child maltreatment were examined as factors in the development of borderline personality features in childhood. Children (M age = 11.30, SD = 0.94), including 314 maltreated and 285 nonmaltreated children from comparable low socioeconomic backgrounds, provided self-reports of developmentally salient borderline personality traits. Maltreated children had higher overall borderline feature scores, had higher scores on each individual subscale, and were more likely to be identified as at high risk for development of BPD through raised scores on all four subscales. Chronicity of maltreatment predicted higher overall borderline feature scores, and patterns of onset and recency of maltreatment significantly predicted whether a participant would meet criteria for the high-risk group. Implications of findings and recommendations for intervention are discussed.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Special Issue 3: The Legacy of Nicki R. Crick's Contributions to Developmental Psychopathology , August 2014 , pp. 805 - 815
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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