Abstract
The primary objective was to assess whether prospectively observed quality of parent-child interaction in infancy and middle childhood contributed to the prediction of borderline symptoms and recurrent suicidality/self-injury in late adolescence. Adolescents (mean 19.9 years) from 56 families participating in a longitudinal study since infancy (retention rate 74%) were assessed on the SCID-II for symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD), including suicidality/self-injury. Early clinical risk was indexed by clinical referral to parent-infant services. Attachment security and parent-child interaction were assessed from videotape at 18 months and 8 years. Severity of childhood abuse was rated from interview and self-report measures. Maternal withdrawal in infancy was a significant predictor of both borderline symptoms and suicidality/self-injury in late adolescence. Disorganized controlling child behavior at age 8 contributed independently to the prediction of borderline symptoms. The effect of maternal withdrawal was independent of, and additive to, variability explained by severity of childhood abuse. Borderline symptoms and suicidality/self-injury may be preceded developmentally by disturbed interactions as early as 18 months of age. A parent-child transactional model is proposed to account for the findings. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 273-281 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychiatry Research |
Volume | 206 |
Issue number | 2-3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 30 Apr 2013 |
Keywords
- Borderline personality disorder
- Suicide
- Longitudinal
- Attachment
- Maltreatment
- COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY-DISORDER
- MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS
- NATIONAL COMORBIDITY SURVEY
- CONFLICT-TACTICS-SCALES
- DISORGANIZED ATTACHMENT
- FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT
- PSYCHOMETRIC DATA
- MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
- RISK-FACTORS
- BEHAVIOR