Borderline personality disorder in young people: associations with support and negative interactions in relationships with mothers and a best friend

Background: Impaired interpersonal functioning has been highlighted as a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Adolescence and young adulthood form important developmental stages within both the emergence of BPD and the development of interpersonal functioning, which takes place mostly in relationships with parents and friends. This study aimed to: (i) investigate relations between BPD symptoms and both supportive and negative interactions with mothers and best friends; (ii) investigate whether the relations were moderated by age; (iii) test the robustness of our findings by comparing the results based on self-reports with results from a subsample in which supportive and negative interactions with mothers were rated by the mother.

Methods: 312 young people referred to mental healthcare completed self-report measures on BPD and supportive and negative interactions. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relations between BPD features and perceived supportive and negative interactions with mothers and a best friend, and to investigate whether these relations were moderated by age. Robustness of our findings was studied in a subsample (n = 104), by using a multi-informant design in maternal report on supportive and negative interactions with mothers.

Results: Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that negative interactions with mothers as well as with a best friend were related to more BPD symptoms in young people. Supportive interactions were not related to BPD symptoms. Both BPD and quality of relations were not related to age. In a subsample in which supportive and negative interactions with mothers were rated by the mother, the maternal report showed slightly different results. In this model, both supportive and negative interactions with a best friend were positively related, whereas interactions with mothers were not related to BPD symptoms in young people.

Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of relationships with mothers and a best friend during adolescence and young adulthood. Given that BPD often emerges during this developmental phase, future research is needed to clarify how quality of relationships could alter pathways toward BPD in young people.

Trial registration: Not applicable.