Title: Borderline personality disorder: examining trajectories of development among adolescents
Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) tends to be highly comorbid with other disorders. In adolescence, information about the classification and development of BPD is in its early stages. There is limited empirical research available that investigates predictors of clinically significant symptom trajectories of the disorder using data collected in childhood. Given the enormous personal and societal costs associated with BPD, early detection and prevention is important. Clinical implications of this research include an improved understanding of risk factors and possible mechanisms for development of BPD symptomatology.
Objectives: To identify trajectories of BPD symptomatology in a Canadian sample of adolescents (N = 703) assessed at ages 13, 14, 15 and 16, while examining predictors of trajectory group membership assessed at age 12.
Methods: Data from the McMaster Teen Study was used to examine trajectories of BPD symptoms using group-based trajectory modeling. The influence of gender, depression, ADHD, family functioning and various sociodemographic variables as predictors of an individual’s group membership was tested. Chi-square, analysis of variance and multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the data.
Results: A four-group trajectory model was most robust at describing BPD symptomatology in this age group. Univariate analyses supported female gender, depression and ADHD at baseline, parental age, marital status, education, and income as significant predictors of group membership. Female gender, depression and ADHD severity at baseline were significant predictors of group membership when adopting a multivariate approach. There is a greater prevalence of girls with higher depression and ADHD scores in the high-increasing features and BPD group.
Conclusion: Findings demonstrate four various developmental trajectories of BPD features. Results further the understanding of the factors associated with development of the disorder across time. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Information about the classification and development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescence is in its early stages. While evidence for similar construct validity to the adult disorder exists for adolescents, major gaps in knowledge regarding the stability in course of BPD symptoms and predictors of clinically significant symptom trajectories in this age group remain. As most clinicians will assess youth already having significant features of the disorder, early detection requires knowledge of the indicators that precede an unfavourable trajectory. This dissertation will help address these gaps by modeling trajectories of BPD symptoms in youth across ages 13-16, whilst examining factors influencing trajectory group membership.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/20625 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Semovski, Valbona |
| Contributors | Boylan, Khrista, Clinical Epidemiology/Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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