Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:470-476
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
The borderline diagnosis in adolescents: symptoms and developmental history
PS Ludolph, D Westen, B Misle, A Jackson, J Wixom and FC Wiss
University Center for the Child and the Family, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
Adult criteria for borderline personality disorder distinguished a group of
27 inpatient adolescent girls from 23 nonborderline inpatient female
comparison subjects. The two groups were compared on retrospectively
assessed variables measuring psychological, familial, and constitutional
factors. Variables most likely to predict borderline personality disorder
included history of disrupted attachments, maternal neglect, maternal
rejection, grossly inappropriate parental behavior, number of mother and
father surrogates, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Families of borderline
adolescents were chronically disrupted, particularly during the patients'
early childhoods. The traumatic childhood experiences of the borderline
adolescents were similar to those of adults with borderline personality
disorder in recent studies.
