title: Predicting borderline personality disorder features from personality traits, identity orientation, and attachment styles in Italian nonclinical adults: issues of consistency across age ranges.
abstract: The aims of this study were to assess whether Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) features could be predicted by Big Five traits, impulsivity, identity orientation, and adult attachment patterns in a sample of 1,192 adult nonclinical participants, and to evaluate the consistency of these regression models across four age groups (<30 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, and >50 years, respectively). In the full sample, measures of neuroticism (N), impulsivity, and anxious insecure attachment were substantial predictors of BPD features (adjusted R(2) = .38, p < .001). Attachment scales were significant predictors of BPD features across all age groups, but different scales were relevant in different age groups. Our results suggest that in nonclinical populations, BPD may represent a complex constellation of personality traits and disturbed attachment patterns.
authors.affiliation: Servizio di Psicologia Clinica e Psicoterapia, San Raffaele Turro, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, via Stamira d’Ancona 20, Milan, Italy. fossati.andrea@hsr.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borroni
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feeney
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maffei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires