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Familial factors and the risk of borderline personality pathology: genetic and environmental transmission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2019

Haya Fatimah ,
Brenton M. Wiernik Open the ORCID record for Brenton M. Wiernik [Opens in a new window] ,
Claire Gorey ,
Matt McGue ,
William G. Iacono  and
Marina A. Bornovalova Open the ORCID record for Marina A. Bornovalova [Opens in a new window]
Haya Fatimah
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Brenton M. Wiernik
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Claire Gorey
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Matt McGue
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
William G. Iacono
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Marina A. Bornovalova*
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Marina A. Bornovalova, E-mail: bornovalova@usf.edu
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Abstract

Background

Parental characteristics and practices predict borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms in children. However, it is difficult to disentangle whether these effects are genetically or environmentally mediated. The present study examines the contributions of genetic and environmental influences by comparing the effects of familial risk factors (i.e. parental psychopathology and borderline traits, maladaptive parenting, marital discord) on child BPD traits in genetically related (biological) and non-related (adoptive) families.

Methods

Data are from 409 adoptive and 208 biological families who participated in the Siblings Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS) and 580 twin families the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS). Parent characteristics and practices included parental psychopathology (measured via structured clinical interviews), parental BPD traits, parenting behaviors, and marital discord. A series of multi-level regression models were estimated to examine the relationship of familial risk factors to child BPD traits and to test whether children's adoptive status moderated the association.

Results

Symptom counts of parents' conduct disorder, adult antisocial behavior, nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug dependence, and paternal BPD traits substantially predicted child BPD traits only in biological offspring, implying genetic transmission. Maternal BPD traits and both maternal and paternal conflict, lack of regard, and lack of involvement predicted offspring BPD traits regardless of the adoptive status, implying environmental transmission.

Conclusions

Parental externalizing psychopathology and father's BPD traits contribute genetic risk for offspring BPD traits, but mothers' BPD traits and parents' poor parenting constitute environmental risks for the development of these offspring traits.

Keywords

Adoptive designsborderline personality disorderexternalizing psychopathologyfamilial transmissioninternalizing psychopathologypassive gene-environment correlation
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 50 , Issue 8 , June 2020 , pp. 1327 - 1337
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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