The Borderline Feature of Negative Relationships and the Intergenerational Transmission of Child Maltreatment Between Mothers and Adolescents

• Published in: Personality disorders 2020-09, Vol.11 (5), p.321-327
• Main Authors: Kors, Stephanie, Macfie, Jenny, Mahan, Rebecca, Kurdziel-Adams, Gretchen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Borderline Personality Disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder - psychology; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child Abuse; Child Abuse - psychology; Diagnosis; Female; Human; Humans; Interpersonal Relationships; Male; Mother-Child Relations - psychology; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Physical Abuse; Sexual Abuse; Transgenerational Patterns
• ISSN: 1949-2715; 1949-2723
• DOI: 10.1037/per0000397

The current study examined the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment in the context of maternal self-reported borderline features (affective instability, negative relationships, identity disturbance, and self-harm/impulsivity) and a maternal borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis. We sampled 41 adolescents of 14 to 18 years of age and their mothers. A total of 19 mothers had a diagnosis of BPD, and 22 mothers were comparisons without the disorder. Results revealed that a maternal diagnosis of BPD was associated with physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and sexual abuse, but not supervisory neglect. Maternal BPD features were associated with emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and physical neglect, but not physical abuse, emotional neglect, or supervisory neglect. Results indicated that families whose mother had BPD experienced more intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (regardless of perpetrator) between mothers and their adolescent offspring than did offspring of normative comparisons. Further, the borderline feature of negative relationships most strongly predicted transmission to the next generation. Neglect and overall maltreatment transmitted from mother to adolescent, whereas sexual abuse and physical abuse did not. Results are discussed in terms of the cascading impact of maltreatment across generations, particularly in families of mothers with BPD.