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The British Journal of Psychiatry The British Journal of Psychiatry

Article contents

How mothers with borderline personality disorder relate to their year-old infants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

R. Peter Hobson ,
Matthew P. H. Patrick ,
Jessica A. Hobson ,
Lisa Crandell ,
Elisa Bronfman  and
Karlen Lyons-Ruth
R. Peter Hobson
Affiliation:
Developmental Psychopathology Research Unit, Tavistock Clinic and Institute of Child Health, University College, London, UK
Matthew P. H. Patrick
Affiliation:
Developmental Psychopathology Research Unit, Tavistock Clinic and Institute of Child Health, University College, London, UK
Jessica A. Hobson*
Affiliation:
Developmental Psychopathology Research Unit, Tavistock Clinic and Institute of Child Health, University College, London, UK
Lisa Crandell
Affiliation:
Turin, Italy
Elisa Bronfman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Karlen Lyons-Ruth
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
*
Professor R. Peter Hobson, Tavistock Clinic, 120 Belsize Lane, London NW3 5BA, UK. Email: r.hobson@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Background

Women with borderline personality disorder have conflictual interpersonal relations that may extend to disrupted patterns of interaction with their infants.

Aims

To assess how women with borderline personality disorder engage with their 12 to 18-month-old infants in separation–reunion episodes.

Method

We videotaped mother–infant interactions in separation–reunion episodes of the Strange Situation test. The mothers were women with borderline personality disorder, with depression, or without psychopathological disorder. Masked ratings of maternal behaviour were made with the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification.

Results

As predicted, a higher proportion (85%) of women with borderline personality disorder than women in the comparison groups showed disrupted affective communication with their infants. They were also distinguished by the prevalence of frightened/disoriented behaviour.

Conclusions

Maternal borderline personality disorder is associated with dysregulated mother–infant communication.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 195 , Issue 4 , October 2009 , pp. 325 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009 

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

None.

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