Background
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 development of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The first aim of the current study was to explore empirical relationships between epistemic trust and symptoms of BPD. The second aim was to explore the effect of epistemic trust on treatment response.
Methods
Data were collected from 322 inpatient adolescents. The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) trust in mother and father subscales were used to approximate epistemic trust in the absence of a validated measure. A multimodal approach was used to measure BPD including self-report, parent-report, and interviewer ratings. Regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between IPPA trust scores and measures of BPD. Mixed-design analyses of variance were conducted to evaluate whether self-reported parent trust at admission influenced progress in treatment.
Results
As hypothesized, results indicated that reduced IPPA trust in parents correlated with BPD symptoms across various measures. Levels of IPPA trust in parents at admission did not moderate a reduction in BPD symptoms over the course of treatment.
Conclusions
This study provides support for the theoretical association between deficits in epistemic trust and BPD while also highlighting the need for a validated measure of epistemic trust. Although parent trust at admission did not moderate a reduction in BPD symptoms over the course of treatment, this result may suggest that progress in treatment, and perhaps the ability to cultivate trust in the treatment setting and providers, may not be overly determined by levels of parent trust.
In recent decades, theological schools have demonstrated increased interest in educational models that not only transmit knowledge and skill to students, but also prepare them to have the character and virtue dispositions needed to successfully navigate the moral challenges that await them in future ministry settings. This shift is reflected in the most recent 2020 accreditation standards of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), which highlight the importance of “personal and spiritual formation” as a key facet to seminary programs. Research conducted by the ATS (2018) into how seminaries understood the terms “personal and spiritual formation” revealed that over 40% of seminaries do not have a formal or working institutional definition of personal and spiritual formation. While this finding may be understandable given the complexities of terms and definitions in light of diverse Christian spiritual traditions, it also highlights an area of crucial need given the centrality of spiritual formation to the mission of theological education. Accordingly, the aim of this present paper is to support work in this area and to stimulate a larger discussion into the topic of spiritual formation within the seminary context by articulating and putting forth four different institutional perspectives on the topic (from Fuller Theological Seminary, George Truett Theological Seminary, Talbot School of Theology, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School).
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