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Developmental aspects of personality disorders

This section is edited by Carla Sharp, PhD.

"The assessment and treatment of personality disorders in youth has received increased research attention in the last 10-15 years. These advances have been reflected in the legitimization of adolescent personality disorder diagnosis in psychiatric nomenclature, and in national treatment guidelines around the world. Meanwhile, it seems that scientific evidence and national practice guidelines are yet to penetrate routine clinical care. We are therefore delighted to create a section on Developmental Aspects of Personality Disorder in youth to promote research into detection, treatment and support of borderline personality disorder in young people."



  1. The mentalization theory posits that interpersonal difficulties and maladaptive personality traits develop from an insecure attachment pattern with one’s caregiver and corresponding deficits in mentalizing—the...

    Authors: Ericka Ball Cooper, Jaime L. Anderson, Carla Sharp, Hillary A. Langley and Amanda Venta
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2021 8:23
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  2. There is a lack of studies examining psychosocial functioning in patients with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), especially in adolescents, and rates of impaired functioning in existing literature vary consider...

    Authors: Denisa Ghinea, Anna Fuchs, Peter Parzer, Julian Koenig, Franz Resch and Michael Kaess
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2021 8:21
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  3. Emotion Dysregulation (ED), childhood trauma and personality are linked to the occurrence of maladaptive behaviours in adolescence which, in turn, may be related to increased risk for psychopathology in the li...

    Authors: Mariangela Lanfredi, Ambra Macis, Clarissa Ferrari, Serena Meloni, Laura Pedrini, Maria Elena Ridolfi, Valentina Zonca, Nadia Cattane, Anna Cattaneo and Roberta Rossi
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2021 8:14
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  4. Research on personality pathology in adolescence has accelerated during the last decade. Among all of the personality disorders, there is strong support for the validity of borderline personality disorder (BPD...

    Authors: Gabriele Skabeikyte and Rasa Barkauskiene
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2021 8:12
    Content type: Review Published on:

  5. Family and friends (‘carers’) of adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and carers of young people with other serious illnesses experience significant adversity but research on the experiences of ca...

    Authors: Mirra R. Seigerman, Jennifer K. Betts, Carol Hulbert, Ben McKechnie, Victoria K. Rayner, Martina Jovev, Sue M. Cotton, Louise McCutcheon, Catharine McNab, Emma Burke and Andrew M. Chanen
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2020 7:17
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. Elevated narcissism in young people often sets up a cascade of interpersonal and mental health challenges, reinforcing the need to understand its concomitants. Experiences of maltreatment and different parenti...

    Authors: Charlotte C. van Schie, Heidi L. Jarman, Elizabeth Huxley and Brin F. S. Grenyer
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2020 7:10
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  7. Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may experience additional challenges in their parenting role, including increased stress and lower self-efficacy and satisfaction. These difficulties have...

    Authors: Kayla R. Steele, Michelle L. Townsend and Brin F. S. Grenyer
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2020 7:8
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. Recent extensions of mentalization theory have included the hypothesis that a reduced capacity for epistemic trust in the context of attachment relationships may represent a core vulnerability for the developm...

    Authors: William Orme, Lauren Bowersox, Salome Vanwoerden, Peter Fonagy and Carla Sharp
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2019 6:13
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. As borderline personality disorder (BPD) is increasingly considered a lifespan developmental disorder, we need to focus on risk factors and precursors in the developmental pathways to BPD, in order to enable e...

    Authors: Christel J. Hessels, Odilia M. Laceulle, Marcel A. G. van Aken, Franz Resch and Michael Kaess
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2018 5:20
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Mother-infant interaction provides important training for the infant’s ability to cope with stress and the development of resilience. Prenatal stress (PS) and its impact on the offspring’s development have lon...

    Authors: Isabell Ann-Cathrin Wolf, Maria Gilles, Verena Peus, Barbara Scharnholz, Julia Seibert, Christine Jennen-Steinmetz, Bertram Krumm, Marcella Rietschel, Michael Deuschle and Manfred Laucht
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2018 5:2
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  11. Some evidence suggests that the prevalence of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is elevated among male criminal offenders. It is not presently known whether offending, and violent offending, are limited to...

    Authors: Marie-Pier Robitaille, Dave Checknita, Frank Vitaro, Richard E. Tremblay, Joel Paris and Sheilagh Hodgins
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:25
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  12. Linehan’s biosocial theory posits that parental invalidation during childhood plays a role in the development of borderline personality disorder symptoms later in life. However, little research has examined co...

    Authors: Shian-Ling Keng and Yun Yi Wong
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:24
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. Insecure attachment is a precursor and correlate of borderline personality disorder. According to the mentalization-based theory of borderline personality disorder, the presence of insecure attachment derails ...

    Authors: Emma Beck, Carla Sharp, Stig Poulsen, Sune Bo, Jesper Pedersen and Erik Simonsen
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:23
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  14. Developmental theories for the aetiology of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) suggest that both individual features (e.g., childhood dysregulated behaviour) and negative environmental experiences (e.g., ma...

    Authors: Catherine Winsper, James Hall, Vicky Y. Strauss and Dieter Wolke
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:10
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  15. Diagnostic standards do not acknowledge developmental specifics and differences in the clinical presentation of adolescents with borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is associated with severe impairments...

    Authors: Michael Kaess, Gloria Fischer-Waldschmidt, Franz Resch and Julian Koenig
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:7
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  16. This paper sets out a recent transition in our thinking in relation to psychopathology associated with personality disorder, in an approach that integrates our thinking about attachment, mentalizing (understan...

    Authors: Peter Fonagy, Patrick Luyten, Elizabeth Allison and Chloe Campbell
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:11
    Content type: Review Published on:

  17. In Part 1 of this paper, we discussed emerging evidence suggesting that a general psychopathology or ‘p’ factor underlying the various forms of psychopathology should be conceptualized in terms of the absence ...

    Authors: Peter Fonagy, Patrick Luyten, Elizabeth Allison and Chloe Campbell
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:9
    Content type: Review Published on:

  18. Despite high levels of burden and distress among families with a member who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), only two BPD specific family psychoeducation groups have been empirically evaluated. Neith...

    Authors: Jessie Pearce, Martina Jovev, Carol Hulbert, Ben McKechnie, Louise McCutcheon, Jennifer Betts and Andrew M. Chanen
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:5
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. Previous research, which primarily focused on adult samples, suggests that individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) display high levels of psychopathology, dysfunctional mentalization and problem...

    Authors: Sune Bo and Mickey Kongerslev
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:4
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  20. Research has supported the notion that emotion dysregulation is a core feature of BPD. However, given that this feature is typical of healthy adolescents as well as adolescents with other psychiatric disorders...

    Authors: Marina Ibraheim, Allison Kalpakci and Carla Sharp
    Citation: Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation 2017 4:1
    Content type: Research article Published on:
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Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation

ISSN: 2051-6673