Evaluate the evidence for borderline personality disorder being (a) caused by adverse events in childhood, and (b) treatable?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is psychiatric disorder characterised by a ubiquitous pattern of instability and impulsivity. Those with BPD struggle to maintain interpersonal relationships due to social inhibition and impulsive aggression. They also tend to find it difficult maintaining a positive self-image, often resulting in a nagging feeling of inadequacy. Of the general population, 1-2% are affected by BPD-Many psychologists have suggested that BPD balances on the line between mood and personality (Tyrer, 2009), which means that there can often be some confusion when diagnosing.

A range of factors have …show more content…
It is clear that many adverse childhood events contribute to the onset of BPD, but are particular incidents reported more frequently in BPD patients and how does it compare to patients with other personality disorders? Zanarini et al. (1997) carried out a study to evaluate a range of adverse childhood experiences reported by patients diagnosed with BPD compared to those reported among patients diagnosed with other personality disorders. This was carried out using a semi-structured interview of 467 inpatients where the interviewer was blind to clinical diagnosis of each patient. The results showed that out of the BPD patients, 91% reported having been abused in childhood, and 92% were neglected. The BPD patients were significantly more likely to report having been sexual abused by a non-caretaker and emotionally and physically abused by caretakers. The authors findings imply that sexual abuse does not predict the onset of BPD and that other traumatic childhood experiences have a great effect as well. Additionally, these findings provide good evidence that adverse childhood events can cause BPD. However, 358 of the 467 patients were diagnosed with BPD and only 109 with other personality disorders. The sample is heavily weighted on BPD patients and so the …show more content…
While many of these studies were retrospective, some studies included prospective measures, and all showed a significant relationship between sexual abuse, childhood maltreatment, BPD precursors and BPD (Battle, Shea, Johnson et al, 2004; Cohen, Crawford, Johnson & Kasen, 2005; Rogosch & Chiccetti, 2005; Yen, Shea, Battle et al, 2002). Early maltreatment has been related not only to BPD, but to other mental disorders. However, these studies show that the relation is strongest with BPD as compared to other personality disorders. The severity of sexual abuse has also been related with the severity of BPD features (Silk, Lee, Hill &Lohr, 1995;