Childhood abuse and aggression in girls: The contribution of borderline personality disorder

The authors tested whether emerging borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms mediated the association between childhood physical abuse (CPA) and aggression among incarcerated girls. Participants were 121 incarcerated adolescent girls (13–19 years old). Three forms of aggression (relational, ov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 2009-01, Vol.21 (1), p.309-317
Main Authors: Burnette, Mandi L., Reppucci, N. Dickon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abuse
Adolescent
Adolescent girls
Aggression
Aggression - psychology
Aggressive behavior
Aggressiveness
Behavior
Behavioral sciences
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder - epidemiology
Child & adolescent psychiatry
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Childhood
Children
Children & youth
Domestic violence
Female
Gender differences
Humans
Imprisonment
Institutionalization
Male
Mental health
Mother-Child Relations
Personality
Personality disorders
Prisons
Psychology, Adolescent
Psychopathology
Regression Analysis
Research methodology
Sex Characteristics
Symptoms
Teenagers
Victimization
Young Adult
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Summary:The authors tested whether emerging borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms mediated the association between childhood physical abuse (CPA) and aggression among incarcerated girls. Participants were 121 incarcerated adolescent girls (13–19 years old). Three forms of aggression (relational, overt, and violent offending behavior) and exposure to CPA by a parental figure were assessed using self-report inventories, whereas BPD symptoms were evaluated using a structured interview. Mediation models, including tests of indirect effects, were conducted in which each form of aggression was predicted from CPA with BPD symptoms entered as a mediator. A divergent pattern emerged in which BPD symptoms mediated the relationship between CPA and violent offending, but not less severe forms of overt aggression. Relational aggression, although correlated with CPA, was not associated with BPD symptoms. Implications for the conceptualization and treatment of girls' aggression within the context of interpersonal functioning are discussed.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579409000170