Mutualistic processes in the development of psychopathology: The special case of borderline personality disorder.

Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, Vol 132(2), Feb 2023, 185-197; doi:10.1037/abn0000800Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by instability in affective, cognitive, and interpersonal domains. BPD co-occurs with several mental disorders and has robust, positive associations with the general factors of psychopathology (p-factor) and personality disorders (g-PD). Consequently, some researchers have purported BPD to be a marker of p, such that the core features of BPD reflect a generalized liability to psychopathology. This assertion has largely stemmed from cross-sectional evidence and no research to date has explicated the developmental relationships between BPD and p. The present study aimed to investigate the development of BPD traits and the p-factor by examining predictions of two opposing frameworks: dynamic mutualism theory and the common cause theory. Competing theories were evaluated to determine which perspective best accounted for the relationship of BPD and p from adolescence into young adulthood. Data were drawn from the Pittsburgh Girls Study (PGS; N = 2,450) and included yearly self-assessments of BPD and other internalizing and externalizing indices from ages 14 to 21. Theories were examined using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) and network models. Results indicated that neither dynamic mutualism nor the common cause theory could fully explain the developmental relations between BPD an...
Source: Journal of Abnormal Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research