Anxious adult attachment may mediate the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and borderline personality disorder

Abstract

These findings support a specific relationship between childhood emotional abuse and the occurrence of BPD, which may be accounted for by preoccupied-anxious adult attachment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Association Between Childhood Trauma and Attachment Functioning in Patients With Personality Disorders

“…Hence, a developmental interpretation of the results is hard to give. Previous studies, using different forms of mediation analyses, report that attachment insecurity mediates the relation between CT and PD (e.g., Frias et al, 2016). This suggests a developmental pathway in which a history of CT may negatively affect the formation of secure internal modes of self and others.…”

“…Although we studied only adult PD patients, it could be similarly useful to longitudinally screen for signs of insecure attachment and symptoms of PD in children and adolescents reporting CT. Preventative therapeutic strategies could subsequently be employed with such children to prevent the development of PD. Based especially on the previously discussed studies, which show a mediating effect of attachment insecurity on the relation between CT and PD (Frias et al, 2016;Minzenberg et al, 2006), these therapeutic strategies should be geared toward improving interpersonal functioning and developing a secure attachment style. From a research perspective, future studies could assess CT (occurrence and severity) and attachment functioning both in a longitudinal way in children and adolescents with a history of CT and in PD patients during the course of an attachment-focused psychotherapy.…”

“…Despite the strong known relationship between CT and PD on the one hand and CT and attachment insecurity on the other, it remains relatively uninvestigated if and how CT influences attachment functioning in adult patients with PDs. A limited number of studies have investigated the possible mediating role of attachment insecurity on the relation between CT and PD (features) (Baryshnikov et al, 2017;Cohen et al, 2017;Frias, Palma, Farriols, Gonzalez, & Horta, 2016;Minzenberg, Poole, & Vinogradov, 2006). In general they have found that the level of preoccupied attachment determines the strength of the correlation between CT and PD (features).…”

“…In general they have found that the level of preoccupied attachment determines the strength of the correlation between CT and PD (features). This is shown for patients with BPD (Frias et al, 2016;Minzenberg et al, 2006), patients with mood disorders (and BPD symptoms) (Baryshnikov et al, 2017), and in patients with diverse psychopathology (and different levels of personality functioning) (Cohen et al, 2017), leaving the relation between CT and attachment functioning in patients with diverse PDs uninvestigated. In addition, in these studies CT was assessed using only a retrospective, selfreport questionnaire, possibly confounding results through a reporting bias (Baldwin, Reuben, Newbury, & Danese, 2019;Hardt & Rutter, 2004).…”

Apego y rasgos límites de la personalidad: el papel mediador de la regulación emocional

“…Por otro lado, la hipoactivación del sistema de apego exhibido por individuos con un estilo evitativo explicaría la asociación con trastornos de la personalidad esquizoide, esquizotípico, narcisista, antisocial y paranoide, (Bakermans-Kranenburg y van Ijzendoorn, 2009; Barone, 2003;Fossati et al, 2003;Levy, 2005; McGauley, Yakeley, Williams y Bateman, 2011; Westen, Shedler y Bradley, 2006). Sin embargo, Frias et al, (2016) han propuesto otro tipo de relaciones; el cluster A se asocia al apego evitativo, el cluster B al apego desorganizado y el cluster B al apego ansioso.…”