Development in Children and Adolescents Whose Mothers Have Borderline Personality Disorder
Author:
- 23 March 2009
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Child Development Perspectives
- Vol. 3 (1) , 66-71
Abstract
— A mother’s mental illness may have a profound effect on her child’s development, including an increased risk of the child developing the same disorder. From a developmental psychopathology perspective, offspring provide an opportunity to examine pathways to disorder versus resilience. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe disorder diagnosed in early adulthood involving stormy relationships, an unstable sense of identity, and self destructive behavior. Interestingly, the domains of dysfunction are conceptually similar to developmental tasks in early childhood reworked in adolescence: attachment, self development, and self‐regulation. Early deviation may increase the risk for later disorder. There are 5 empirical studies of children whose mothers have BPD, 2 conducted from a developmental perspective. This article proposes a theoretical framework and an innovative methodology with which to extend this research and suggests an intervention to bring development back on track if necessary.Keywords
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