title: Relationships between self-reported childhood traumatic experiences, attachment style, neuroticism and features of borderline personality disorders in patients with mood disorders.
abstract: Co-occurring borderline personality disorder (BPD) features have a marked impact on treatment of patients with mood disorders. Overall, high neuroticism, childhood traumatic experiences (TEs) and insecure attachment are plausible aetiological factors for BPD. However, their relationship with BPD features specifically among patients with mood disorders remains unclear. We investigated these relationships among unipolar and bipolar mood disorder patients.
  
  
  
  As part of the Helsinki University Psychiatric Consortium study, the McLean Screening Instrument (MSI), the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), the Short Five (S5) and the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) were filled in by patients with mood disorders (n=282) in psychiatric care. Correlation coefficients between total scores of scales and their dimensions were estimated, and multivariate regression (MRA) and mediation analyses were conducted.
  
  
  
  Spearman's correlations were strong (rho=0.58; p<0.001) between total scores of MSI and S5 Neuroticism and moderate (rho=0.42; p<0.001) between MSI and TADS as well as between MSI and ECR-R Attachment Anxiety. In MRA, young age, S5 Neuroticism and TADS predicted scores of MSI (p<0.001). ECR-R Attachment Anxiety mediated 33% (CI=17-53%) of the relationships between TADS and MSI.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional questionnaire study.
  
  
  
  We found moderately strong correlations between self-reported BPD features and concurrent high neuroticism, reported childhood traumatic experiences and Attachment Anxiety also among patients with mood disorders. Independent predictors for BPD features include young age, frequency of childhood traumatic experiences and high neuroticism. Insecure attachment may partially mediate the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and borderline features among mood disorder patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Ilya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baryshnikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Grigori
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Joffe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Maaria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koivisto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Melartin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Mental Health Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aaltonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Services and Health Care, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kirsi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.affiliation: IBS, Unit of Personality, Work and Health Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rosenström
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Näätänen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karpov
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Martti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heikkinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Mental Health Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: erkki.isometsa@hus.fi.
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Isometsä
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D000075384:Neuroticism; D009769:Object Attachment; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Attachment; Bipolar disorders; Borderline personality disorder; Childhood abuse; Depressive disorders; Mediational analysis; Neuroticism