Childhood maltreatment and the development of subclinical borderline personality features in adulthood: the role of resilience as a protective factor

Submission note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Clinical Psychology to the School of Psychological Science, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

Research literature has established a link between adult recollections of childhood maltreatment and adult borderline personality features. There has also been research conducted into resilience as a possible protective factor in the association between childhood maltreatment and psychopathology. Resilience is a concept whereby individuals do well psychologically in the face of adversity. The aim of study 1 was to investigate how subclinical borderline personality features were associated with adult recollections of childhood maltreatment and global resilience. Participants were 564 members of the community recruited through various methods (mean age = 30.78, SD = 12.06; 67.6% female). Results supported the hypotheses that participants’ level of subclinical borderline personality features would be associated with recollections of past experiences of childhood maltreatment and current global resilience. Low subclinical borderline personality features were associated high levels of resilience for those reporting recollections of childhood maltreatment. This suggests that resilience may protect individuals with recollections of maltreatment in childhood from developing subclinical borderline personality features. Study 2 investigated specific protective factors that may increase resilience levels and therefore reduce subclinical borderline personality features for individuals reporting recollections of childhood maltreatment. The research literature has found support for the resilience factors of family characteristics, interpersonal functioning, social support, and coping style as important in protecting individuals from developing psychopathology. Study 2 recruited 258 participants in a community sample (mean age of 33.64, SD = 13.39; 74.8% female). Results revealed that subclinical borderline personality features were associated with adult recollections of childhood maltreatment and all the listed resilience factors. Low levels of subclinical borderline personality features were associated with high levels of each of the resilience factors and recollections of childhood maltreatment. These resilience factors may be important in protecting an individual from developing subclinical borderline personality features following maltreatment in childhood.