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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Personality Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1454328

Age-Related Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder Traits and Childhood Maltreatment: A Cross-Sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Guorong Li Guorong Li 1Yong Lin Yong Lin 1Yun Xu Yun Xu 2Yong Zhou Yong Zhou 1Yanyan Wei Yanyan Wei 2Lihua Xu Lihua Xu 2Xiaochen Tang Xiaochen Tang 2Zixuan Wang Zixuan Wang 3Qiang Hu Qiang Hu 4Jijun Wang Jijun Wang 2Haisu Wu Haisu Wu 2Zhenghui Shanghai Yi Zhenghui Shanghai Yi 2Tianhong Zhang Tianhong Zhang 2*
  • 1 Jiaxing Kangci Hospital, Jiaxing, China
  • 2 Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 3 Shanghai Xinlianxin Psychological Counseling Center, Shanghai, China
  • 4 Zhenjiang Mental Health Center, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study investigates age-related differences in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) traits and childhood maltreatment (CM) experiences among adolescents, young adults, and older adults within a clinical sample. A cross-sectional design was employed, involving 2029 outpatients aged 15-50 years from the Shanghai Mental Health Center. BPD traits were assessed using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4th Edition Plus (PDQ-4+), and CM experiences were evaluated using the Child Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF). Participants were categorized into three age groups: adolescents (15-21 years), young adults (22-30 years), and older adults (31-50 years). Adolescents reported significantly higher frequencies of BPD traits and diagnoses compared to young adults and older adults (p=0.036). Specifically, identity disturbance and impulsivity were more pronounced in adolescents (p<0.001). Additionally, adolescents reported higher levels of emotional (F=15.987, p<0.001) and physical abuse (F=12.942, p=0.002), while older adults reported higher levels of emotional and physical neglect. Logistic regression analysis identified key BPD criteria and CM subtypes that differentiated adolescents from adults.The findings underscore the importance of age-specific interventions in treating BPD and addressing childhood maltreatment. Adolescents exhibit distinct patterns of BPD traits and CM experiences, necessitating tailored therapeutic approaches.

    Keywords: personality disorder, Borderline trait, self-report, childhood abuse, emotional abuse

    Received: 25 Jun 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Lin, Xu, Zhou, Wei, Xu, Tang, Wang, Hu, Wang, Wu, Yi and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tianhong Zhang, Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.