Borderline Personality Disorder in a “Life History Theory” Perspective: Evidence for a Fast “Pace-of-Life-Syndrome”

Abstract

“Borderline Personality Disorder” (BPD) is associated with heightened risk for cardiovascular disease and other stress-associated somatic consequences, which is poorly understood in terms of causal mechanisms, such as childhood trauma. Here, we tested the hypothesis suggesting that BPD reflects a fast “Pace-of-Life-Syndrome” (PoLS). Ninety-five women (44 diagnosed with BPD) were recruited to examine psychological correlates of PoLS, including life history features, personality dimensions, aggressiveness, chronic stress, borderline symptom severity, childhood trauma, and allostatic load (AL). In line with expectations, BPD patients had significantly higher scores suggestive of a fast PoLS than controls, they were more aggressive, more burdened with chronic stress and were exposed to more severe childhood adversity. Childhood trauma predicted PoLS, which in turn predicted AL. The present study thus provides direct evidence of psychological and somatic traits associated with the fast end of the PoLS spectrum in females with BPD. Findings are discussed with regard to clinical implications.

Prenatal stress and offspring depression in adulthood: The mediating role of childhood trauma

“…The long-term consequences of early risk and childhood trauma may also be considered from a life history perspective (LHP), where experiences of neglect, abuse and peer trauma may herald a world where others cannot be trusted or are disappointing (Brüne, 2016;Del Giudice, 2014;Otto et al, 2021). Thus, LHP predicts a faster pace of life with physical and psychological resources expanded to allow to escape a family or context at an earlier age than those in non-abusive contexts.…”

The evolution of personality disorders: A review of proposals

“…It follows that personality traits are packaged into broad suites of coordinated morphological, physiological, and behavioral characters (27), and that it is not traits but the entire frame that responds to selection (184,213,240,241). In humans, conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bulimia, impulse-control disorders, and borderline and antisocial PDs have been related to fast life histories (23,240,(243)(244)(245)(246). Strategies at the fast pole of the continuum are believed to maximize fitness under adverse environmental conditions by prioritizing current over future reproduction, mating over parenting, and quantity over quality.…”

“…In humans, conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bulimia, impulse-control disorders, and borderline and antisocial PDs have been related to fast life histories ( 23 , 240 , 243 – 246 ). Strategies at the fast pole of the continuum are believed to maximize fitness under adverse environmental conditions by prioritizing current over future reproduction, mating over parenting, and quantity over quality.…”

Commentary on Boysen and Isaacs (2022) and Boysen et al. (2022).

“…This would require clear delineation between different disorders; however, this may also be problematic as there are hundreds of different disorders recognized in classification systems such as the DSM–5 (APA, 2013). Further, if researchers want to do this from an evolutionary perspective, it may be beneficial to consult various evolutionary models of psychopathology (see, e.g., Beck & Bredemeier, 2016; Del Giudice, 2016, 2018; Del Giudice & Ellis, 2016; Hurst & Kavanagh, 2017; Kahl et al, 2020; Kavanagh & Kahl, 2018; Montgomery, 2018; Jiaqing et al, 2019; Otto et al, 2021; Reser, 2017; Swanepoel et al, 2017) as understanding the potential development of psychopathology from an evolutionary perspective may help clarify commonalities between etiological factors and exploitability cues.…”