The developmental trajectory of Borderline personality disorder and peer victimisation: Australian family carers’ perspectives

Abstract

Victimisation is a traumatic experience linked to development of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, there is limited research investigating the developmental journey prior to BPD diagnosis. School environments offer an opportunity for BPD prevention and early intervention. A survey with 19 Australian family carers of people with BPD asked what they noticed during the person's infancy, childhood and adolescence, and their experiences of seeking help during that time. Sensitivity was most noticeable during infancy; difficulty making friends, school refusal/truancy and being bullied were prominent concerns once the child was at school; and concerns about anger, moodiness and impulsivity were the strongest prompts to seek help during adolescence, though doctor or teacher recommendation to do so was uncommon. BPD family carers' experiences suggest that improved focus on addressing bullying and communication is needed.

Psychosocial functioning in adolescents with and without borderline personality disorder

“…Both groups had similarly high rates of good relationships with friends: adolescent patients with BPD declare that they maintain satisfying relationships with their peers. This result partially contradicts earlier studies on various difficulties in peer relationship in adolescents with BPD …”

Childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, borderline personality feature, suicidal risk in adolescents: Direct and indirect associations among developmental trajectories

“…More tellingly in this study, previous studies have documented that due to the rapid and extensive biological, cognitive, and behavioral developments in adolescents, adolescence is a critical period accompanied by obvious as well as meaningful changes in parent-child relationship (Rogers et al, 2020), peer relationship (Erazo et al, 2022), personality characteristics (Wlodarczyk & Lawn, 2017), and mental health status (Shore et al, 2018). These changes necessitate a deeper understanding of the dynamic interplay among childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, borderline personality feature, and suicidal risk from a developmental perspective.…”

Exploring General Practitioners’ Views and Experiences of Providing Care to People with Borderline Personality Disorder in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study in Australia

“…Overall, GPs expressed varying feelings of uncertainty regarding their capabilities to diagnose BPD, which were accompanied by varying concerns about having no clear, evidence-based management routes to pursue following diagnosis. BPD is often undiagnosed in the primary care setting [2,4,23]. Our research suggests this might be partly a consequence of the clinical complexity and high rates of comorbidity that GPs encounter during presentations.…”

“…Since BPD symptomatology typically emerges in adolescence and early adulthood, GP assessment may benefit from long-term observation in patients that have been part of a GP practice over a long duration of time since childhood; crucially, this also affords the opportunity to act early and initiate prevention/early intervention measures [4,23,27]. Prevention/early intervention is also important for mitigating the development of frequently co-occurring disorders, because BPD is recognised as a risk factor for other mental health disorders [2,4,10,11].…”