ARTICLES
Psychological Risk Factors for Borderline Pathology in School-Age Children

https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199902000-00021Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective

To determine whether children with borderline pathology have a specific pattern of psychological risk factors.

Method

The subjects were 94 school-age children in day treatment, divided into borderline (n = 41) and nonborderline (n = 53) groups using the child version of the Retrospective Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines. All children were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, and the Psychosocial Questionnaire. Parental pathology was assessed by a computerized version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R.

Results

Children with borderline pathology had higher rates of physical abuse, sexual abuse, severe neglect, as well as family breakdown and parental criminality. In multivariate analyses, the discriminating factors were sexual abuse and parental criminality. Borderline pathology was highly comorbid with conduct disorder, but most of these results remained significant in reanalyses comparing children with and without conduct disorder.

Conclusions

Borderline pathology in children has a unique pattern of risk factors not accounted for by conduct disorder alone.

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    Grant support: Conseil Québecois de la Recherche Sociale. The authors acknowledge the help of their research assistant, Marion van Horn, as well that of Drs. Judith Vogel and Marsha Heyman, Shari Joseph, and the treatment team at the Child Day Treatment Center.

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