A Comparison of Life Events in Adolescents with Major Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder and Matched Controls: A Pilot Study

Background: The study assessed the prevalence of life events (LE) in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 19), borderline personality disorder (BPD, n = 20) and matched controls (n = 20). Methods: Assessment measures included: the Child Suicide Potential Scale, the Beck Depression In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychopathology 2008-01, Vol.41 (5), p.300-306
Main Authors: Horesh, Netta, Ratner, Sharon, Laor, Nathaniel, Toren, Paz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Borderline Personality Disorder - diagnosis
Borderline Personality Disorder - epidemiology
Borderline Personality Disorder - psychology
Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology
Child Abuse, Sexual - statistics & numerical data
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology
Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Humans
Life Change Events
Male
Medical sciences
Mood disorders
Original Paper
Personality disorders
Pilot Projects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Background: The study assessed the prevalence of life events (LE) in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 19), borderline personality disorder (BPD, n = 20) and matched controls (n = 20). Methods: Assessment measures included: the Child Suicide Potential Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Life Events Checklist, the Childhood Sexual Abuse Questionnaire and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results: The percentage of negative lifetime LE was significantly higher in both MDD and BPD groups than in the control group, while the opposite was true for the percentage of positive LE. No difference was detected between the groups in the number of negative LE in the year preceding their admission. The MDD group reported more death-related LE than the control group, while the BPD group reported more sexual abuse LE than the control and MDD groups. Conclusions: The present study is a cross-sectional study, and therefore, we cannot draw definite conclusions regarding causality. Yet, the significance of negative LE as contributors to and of positive LE as protective factors against the development of nonsuicidal psychopathology is suggested. Further, the possible association between death of a first-degree relative and MDD and between sexual abuse occurring in early childhood and BPD is raised.
ISSN:0254-4962
1423-033X
DOI:10.1159/000141925