Concurrent Associations Between Trauma and Borderline Personality Organization in Emerging Adulthood

Aikaterini Malafanti, Vasiliki Yotsidi, Eleni Giannouli, Evangelia Paraskevadaki, Ioannis Malogiannis

Abstract


Introduction: There is limited research on the role of traumatic experiences in the development of borderline personality organization (BPO), which is a level of personality pathology characterized by identity diffusion, primitive defenses, impairment in reality testing, aggression, and deficits in the internalization of moral values, according to Kernberg’s psychodynamic model. Even less research evidence exists on the role of adult trauma in BPO.


Aim of this Study: Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the concurrent associations between different types of trauma after the age of 18 and BPO in emerging adulthood.


Method: A community sample of 494 Greek emerging adults (aged 18-29 years, M = 21.38) completed the Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire and the Inventory of Personality Organization.


Results: Structural equation modeling indicated low to moderate associations between trauma and BPO. The type of trauma that was most strongly associated with BPO was emotional abuse (including verbal abuse), especially for women. Only for men substance abuse (alcohol and drugs) and traumatic life events (e.g., accident, illness, disaster, death) were significant risk factors for BPO.


Conclusion: This study highlighted the differential and age-specific impact of the various types of concurrent trauma on personality pathology during emerging adulthood. The findings of this study, especially regarding the negative impact of emotional abuse on young women and of substance abuse and traumatic life events on young men, should be considered in designing and implementing developmentally- and trauma-informed as well as gender-sensitive screening and intervention practices with emerging adults. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of chronic, cumulative, and complex trauma in BPO in clinical and non-clinical populations of emerging adults.

Keywords


Adult trauma; Borderline personality organization; Clinical psychology; Emerging adulthood; Kernberg’s theory.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.13129/2282-1619/mjcp-4331

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