Rethinking abuse in Borderline Personality Disorder: the case of verbal interaction across the lifespan

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Osmano Oasi, Sara Vecchi
Publishing Year 2015 Issue 2015/1
Language Italian Pages 16 P. 119-134 File size 200 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2015-001007
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This study focuses on the relationship between verbal abuse and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), marked in literature only by some authors. The clinical history of an adult female patient diagnosed with BPD was examined to identify the presence of this type of maltreatment across her lifespan. A multi-instrumental assessment was carried out and verbal abuse in the parental communications was evaluated through a newly developed questionnaire. Results show the presence of verbal abuse, perpetrated by both the parental figures: the patient’s mother, overinvolved in a symbiotic bond with her daughter, tends to humiliate and to blame her, while her father, completely emotionally absent, expresses disapproval or mainly communicates indifference and rejection. However, further confirmatory studies are required.

Keywords: Verbal abuse, Borderline Personality Disorder, lifespan, multi-instrumental assessment.

  1. American Psychiatric Association (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association (Trad. it.: Manuale Diagnostico e statistico dei disturbi mentali, Terza edizione. Milano: Masson, 1983).
  2. American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association (Trad. it.: Manuale Diagnostico e statistico dei disturbi mentali, Quarta edizione. Milano: Masson, 1996).
  3. Bousha, D. M., & Twentyman, C. T. (1984). Mother-child interactional style in abuse, neglect, and control groups: Naturalistic observations in the home. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 106-114, DOI: 10.1037/0021-843X.93.1.106
  4. Brassard, M. R., Hart, S. N., & Hardy, D. B. (1993). The psychological maltreatment rating scales. Child Abuse & Neglect, 17, 715-729, DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(08)80003-8
  5. Briere, J., Godbout, N., & Runtz, M. (2012). The Psychological Maltreatment Review (PMR): Initial reliability and association with insecure attachment in adults. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 21, 300-320, DOI: 10.1080/10926771.2012.659801
  6. Burnett, B. B. (1993). The psychological abuse of latency age children: A survey. Child Abuse & Neglect, 17, 441-454, DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(93)90019-2
  7. Cupples, G. (1872). Tappy’s chicks and other links between nature and human nature. London: Strahan & Co.
  8. Dynkmeyer, D. (1983). Systematic training for effective parenting of teens. Circle Pines, Mn: American Guidance Service.
  9. Favaretto, E., Torresani, S., & Zimmermann, C. (2001). Further results on the reliability of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in an Italian sample of schizophrenic patients and their parents. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57, 119-129, DOI: 10.1002/1097-4679(200101)57:1<119::AID-JCLP12>3.0.CO;2-2
  10. First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (1997). SCID-I Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press (Trad. it.: Mazzi, F., Morosini, P., De Girolamo, G., Lussetti, M., & Guaraldi, G. P., SCID-I Intervista Clinica Strutturata per i disturbi dell’asse I del DSM-IV. Firenze: O.S. Organizzazioni Speciali, 2000).
  11. First, M. B., Gibbon, M., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Benjamin, L. S. (1997). SCID-II Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press (Trad. it.: Mazzi, F., Morosini, P., De Girolamo, G., & Guaraldi, G. P., SCID-II - Intervista Clinica Strutturata per i disturbi dell’asse II del DSM-IV. Firenze: O.S. Organizzazioni Speciali, 2003).
  12. Gelles, R. J., & Straus, M. A. (1979). Determinants of violence in the family: Toward a theoretical integration. In W. R. Burr, R. Hill, F. I. Nye & I. L. Reiss (Eds.), Contemporary theories about the family. New York: Free Press.
  13. Gibb, B. E. (2002). Childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles. A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 223-246, DOI: 10.1016/S0272-7358(01)0o088-5
  14. Giovannoni, J., & Becerra, R. M. (1979). Defining child abuse. New York: Free Press. Gordon, T. (1970). Parent effectiveness training. New York: Wyden.
  15. Gross, A. B, & Keller, H. R. (1992). Long-term consequences of childhood physical and psychological maltreatment. Aggressive Behavior, 18, 171-185, DOI: 10.1002/1098-2337(1992)18:3<171::aid-ab2480180302>3.0.co;2-i
  16. Gunderson, J. G. (1996). The borderline patient’s intolerance of aloneness: Insecure attachments and therapist availability. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 752-758, DOI: 10.1176/ajp.153.6.752
  17. Gunderson, J. G., & Sabo, A. N. (1993). The phenomenological and conceptual interface between borderline personality disorder and PTSD. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 19-27, DOI: 10.1176/ajp.150.1.19
  18. Heffernan, K., & Cloitre, M. (2000). A comparison of posttraumatic stress disorder with and without borderline personality disorder among women with a history of childhood sexual abuse: Etiological and clinical characteristics. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 188, 589-595, DOI: 10.1097/00005053-200009000-00005
  19. Johnson, J. G., Cohen, P., Smailes, E. M., Skodol, A. E., Brown, J., & Oldham, J. M. (2001). Childhood verbal abuse and risk for personality disorders during adolescence and early adulthood. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 42, 16-23, DOI: 10.1053/comp.2001.19755.Johnson,J.G.,Bromley,E.,&McGeoch,P.G.(2005).Roleofchildhoodexperiencesinthedevelopmentofadaptiveandmaladaptivepersonalitytraits.InJ.M.Oldham,A.E.Skodol&D.S.Bender(Eds.),TheAmericanpsychiatricpublishingtextbookofpersonalitydisorders.Washington,DC:AmericanPsychiatricPublishing
  20. Kavanagh, C. (1982). Emotional abuse and mental injury: A critique of the concepts and a recommendation for practice. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 21, 171-177, DOI: 10.1016/S0002-7138(09)60916-X
  21. Kennedy, A. J. (2003). Mastering the Kennedy Axis V. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing (Trad. it.: Il funzionamento del paziente psichiatrico: manuale di valutazione. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2007).
  22. Laporte, L., & Guttman, H. (2001). Abusive relationships in families of women with borderline personality disorder, anorexia nervosa and a control group. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189, 522-31, DOI: 10.1097/00005053-200108000-00005
  23. Leucht, S., Kane, J. M., Kissling, W., Hamann, J., Etschel, E., & Engel, R. (2005). Clinical implications of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 366-371, DOI: 10.1192/bjp.187.4.366
  24. Masterson, J., & Rinsley, D. (1975). The Borderline Syndrome: The role of the mother in the genesis and psychic structure of the borderline personality. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 56, 163-177.
  25. McGee, R. A., & Wolfe, D. A. (1991). Psychological maltreatment: Toward an operational definition. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 3-18, DOI: 10.1017/S0954579400005034
  26. McGowan, A., King, H., Frankenburg, F. R., Fitzmaurice, G., & Zanarini, M. C. (2012). The course of adult experiences of abuse in patients with borderline personality disorder and Axis II comparison subjects: A 10-year follow-up study. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26, 192-202, DOI: 10.1521/pedi.2012.26.2.192
  27. Ney, P. G. (1987). Does verbal abuse leave deeper scars: A study of children and parents. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 32, 371-378.
  28. Ney, P. G., Moore, C., McPhee, J., & Trought, P. (1986). Child abuse: A study of the child’s perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect, 10, 511-518, DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(86)90056-6
  29. Ney, P. G., Fung, T., & Wickett, A. R. (1994). The worst combinations of child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 705-714, DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(94)00037-9
  30. Oldham, J. M., Skodol, A. E., Gallagher, P. E., & Kroll, M. E. (1996). Relationship of borderline symptoms to histories of abuse and neglect: A pilot study. Psychiatric Quarterly, 67, 287-295, DOI: 10.1007/bf02326372
  31. Overall, J. E., & Gorham, D. R. (1962), The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychological Reports, 10, 790-812 (Trad. it.: Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), in L. Conti (1999), Repertorio delle scale di valutazione in psichiatria. Firenze: Società Editrice Europea, pp. 249-252).
  32. Parker, G., Tupling, H., & Brown, L. B. (1979). A Parental Bonding Instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1-10, DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1979.tb02487.x
  33. Perry, J. C. (1983) The Borderline Personality Disorder Scale (BPD-Scale). Cambridge: Cambridge Hospital (Trad. it: Borderline Personality Disorder Scale (BPD), in L. Conti (1999), Repertorio delle scale di valutazione in psichiatria. Firenze: Società Editrice Europea, pp. 1407-1427). Post, R. M., Altshuler, L. L., Kupka, R., McElroy, S. L., Frye, M. A., Rowe, M., Leverich, G. S., Grunze, H., Suppes, T., Keck, P. E. Jr, & Nolen, W. A. (first published online: 13 OCT 2014). Verbal abuse, like physical and sexual abuse, in childhood is associated with an earlier onset and more difficult course of bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, DOI: 10.1111/bdi.12268
  34. Reed, L. I., Fitzmaurice, G., & Zanarini, M. C. (2013). The relationship between childhood adversity and dysphoric inner states among borderline patients followed prospectively for 10 Years. Journal of Personality Disorders, 27, 1-10, DOI: 10.1521/pedi_2013_27_086
  35. Rose, D. T., & Abramson, L. Y. (1992). Developmental predictors of depressive cognitive styles: Developmental perspectives on depression. In D. Cicchetti & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Developmental perspectives on depression. Rochester symposium on developmental psychopathology. Vol. 4. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
  36. Sachs-Ericsson, N., Verona, E., Joiner, T., & Preacher, K. J. (2006). Parental verbal abuse and the mediating role of self-criticism in adult internalizing disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 93, 71-78, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2006.02.014
  37. Samalin, N. (1988). Loving your child is not enough. New York: Penguin.
  38. Schaefer, C. (1997). Defining verbal abuse of children: A survey. Psychological Reports, 80, 626-626, DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1997.80.2.626
  39. Scinto, A., Marinangeli, M. G., Kalyvoka, A., Daneluzzo, E., & Rossi, A. (1999). Utilizzazione della versione italiana del Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in un campione clinico ed in un campione di studenti: uno studio di analisi fattoriale esplorativa e confermatoria. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 8, 276-283, DOI: 10.1017/S1121189X00008198
  40. Shedler, J., Westen, D., & Lingiardi, V. (2014). La valutazione della personalità con la SWAP-200. Nuova edizione. Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  41. Teicher, M. H., Samson, J. A., Polcari, A., & McGreenery, C. E. (2006). Sticks, stones, and hurtful words: Relative effects of various forms of childhood maltreatment. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 993-1000, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.163.6.993
  42. Thompson, R. A., Christiansen, E. H., Jackson, S, Wyatt, J. M., Colman, R. A., Peterson, R. L., Wilcox, B. L., & Buckendahl, C. W. (1999). Parent attitudes and discipline practices: Profiles and correlates in a nationally representative sample. Child Maltreatment, 4, 316-330, DOI: 10.1177/1077559599004004005
  43. Thompson, R. A., & Jacobs, J. E. (1991). Defining psychological maltreatment: Research and policy perspectives. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 93-102, DOI: 10.1017/s0954579400005137
  44. Vissing, Y. M., Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Harrop, J. W. (1991). Verbal aggression by parents and psychosocial problems of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 223-239, DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(91)90067-N
  45. Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999a). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part I: Developing a clinically and empirically valid assessment method. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 258-272, DOI: 10.1176/ajp.156.2.258
  46. Westen, D., & Shedler, J. (1999b). Revising and assessing Axis II, Part II. Toward an empirically based and clinically useful classification of personality disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 273-285, DOI: 10.1176/ajp.156.2.273
  47. Zanarini, M. C., Gunderson, J. G., Marino, M. F., Schwartz, E. O., & Frankenburg, F. R. (1989). Childhood experiences of borderline patients. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 30, 18-25, DOI: 10.1016/0010-440x(89)90114-4.
  48. Zanarini, M. C., & Frankenburg, F. R. (1997). Pathways to the development of borderline personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders, 11, 93-104, DOI: 10.1521/pedi.1997.11.1.93
  49. Zanarini, M. C., Williams, A. A., Lewis, R. E., Reich, R. B., Vera, S. C., Marino, M. F., Levin, A., Yong, L., & Frankenburg, F. R. (1997). Reported pathological childhood experiences associated with the development of borderline personality disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 1101-1106. DOI: 10.1176/ajp.154.8.1101
  50. Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., Hennen, J., & Silk, K. R. (2005). Adult experiences of abuse reported by borderline patients and Axis II comparison subjects over six years of prospective follow-up. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193, 412-416. DOI: 10.1097/01.nmd.0000165295.65844.52

Osmano Oasi, Sara Vecchi, Ripensare l’abuso nel Disturbo Borderline di Personalità: il caso dell’interazione verbale nell’arco di vita della persona in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 1/2015, pp 119-134, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2015-001007