Cultural Differences, Diagnosis, and the Intervention in Adolescence in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

The previous study showed that borderline personality disorder was strongly associated with childhood trauma and developed personality traits into adolescence that could lead to borderline personality disorder. Research also indicated a cultural difference in the psychopathology and diagnosis of borderline personality disorder in both adults and adolescents. A borderline personality disorder is a type of personality disorder that has symptoms around unstable emotions, dissociation and fear of being abandoned. Although having deviant behaviour was a significant risk factor in detecting borderline personality disorder, it could be less potent in non-western cultures like China and India. Merging cultural differences and the criteria of borderline personality disorder could accurately detect borderline personality disorder in adolescence. It helped people intervene and treat it earlier to slow the progression of borderline personality disorder. This study focused on reviewing previous research on cultural differences, detection, prevention, and intervention in adolescents with borderline personality disorder. Cultural differences like different social norms or traditions influence individual identity and interpersonal relationships, which are non-negligible components of the period of adolescence that could induce borderline personality disorder if adolescents have issues with those parts. People need to be aware of the symptoms to intervene in borderline personality disorder in adolescents through multiple treatments with an appropriate plan and management, which should focus on psychotherapy, like dialectic behavioural therapy, supportive psychotherapy, and Mentalization-based therapy.