title: Adult attachment to transitional objects and borderline personality disorder.
abstract: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by tumultuous, unstable personal relationships, difficulty being alone, and an inability to self-soothe. This may explain why patients with BPD tend to develop strong attachments to transitional objects such as stuffed animals. Research in hospital settings has linked the use of transitional objects to the presence of BPD. Using a nonclinical community sample (N = 80) we explored the link between attachments to transitional objects and various aspects of personality pathology, as well as to childhood trauma, and parental rearing styles. People who reported intense current attachments to transitional objects were significantly more likely to meet criteria for a BPD diagnosis than those who did not; they also reported more childhood trauma, rated their early caregivers as less supportive, and had more attachment problems as adults. Heavy emotional reliance on transitional objects in adulthood may be an indicator of underlying pathology, particularly BPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. jmh@wjh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hooley
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson-Murphy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult