PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN OFFSPRING OF MOTHERS WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY-DISORDER - A PILOT-STUDY

Objective: Children of mothers with borderline personality disorder (B PD) were hypothesized to be at greater risk for psychopathology, parti cularly impulse spectrum disorders, than children of mothers with othe r personality disorders.Method: Twenty-one index children were compare d with 23 children of mothers with a nonborderline personality disorde r. Diagnoses were obtained using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Dis orders and Schizophrenia-Episodic Version (KSADS-E) and the Child Diag nostic Interview for BPD (CDIB), and functioning was rated with the Ch ild Global Assessment Schedule (CGAS). Physical, sexual, and verbal ab use, as well as family violence and placements, were also assessed. Re sults: The children of the borderline mothers, as compared with contro ls, had more psychiatric diagnoses, more impulse control disorders, a higher frequency of child BPD and lower CGAS scores. There were no dif ferences between the groups for trauma. Conclusion: The offspring of b orderline mothers are at high risk for psychopathology.