Borderline Symptoms at Age 12 Signal Risk for Poor Outcomes During the Transition to Adulthood: Findings From a Genetically Sensitive Longitudinal Cohort Study
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Borderline personality disorder in adolescence remains a controversial construct. We addressed concerns about the prognostic significance of adolescent borderline pathology by testing whether borderline symptoms at age 12 years predict functioning during the transition to adulthood, at age 18 years, in areas critical to life-course development. METHOD: We studied members of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, which tracks the development of a birth cohort of 2,232 British twin children. At age 12, study members' borderline symptoms were measured using mothers' reports. At age 18, study members' personality, psychopathology, functional outcomes, and experiences of victimization were measured using self-reports, coinformant reports, and official records. RESULTS: At age 18, study members who had more borderline symptoms at age 12 were more likely to have difficult personalities, to struggle with poor mental health, to experience poor functional outcomes, and to have become victims of violence. Reports of poor outcomes were corroborated by coinformants and official records. Borderline symptoms in study members at 12 years old predicted poor outcomes over and above other behavioral and emotional problems during adolescence. Twin analyses showed that borderline symptoms in 12-year-olds were influenced by familial risk, particularly genetic risk, which accounted for associations with most poor outcomes at age 18. CONCLUSION: Borderline symptoms in 12-year-olds signal risk for pervasive poor functioning during the transition to adulthood. This association is driven by genetic influences, suggesting that borderline symptoms and poor outcomes are manifestations of shared genetic risk.
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,750
Funders: University of Otago, King's College London, Jacobs Foundation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Awards: G2039281854, Duke Population Research Center, G2337827486, Neuropsychological and genomic signatures of violence exposure in childhood, G4036427723, G4154018034, G4184501341, G4312987371, G4919021182, G5701737369, G62587543, G6637449936, Mental Health Leadership Fellow - The impact of social relationships in the 21st century on mental health and wellbeing, Centre for Society and Mental Health, G7883804441, Human Development: Interdisciplinary Research Training
OpenAlex ID: W2957115773