Do self and interpersonal dysfunction cross-sectionally mediate the association between adverse childhood experiences and personality pathology?

Abstract

Two primary limitations of research on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and personality disorder (PD) are (1) failure to consider mechanisms of association and (2) inconsistent results due, in part, to inconsistent approaches to quantifying ACE exposure. The current study will address these limitations by examining the cross-sectional mediating role of self- and interpersonal dysfunction on the association between ACE and three PDs (antisocial, schizotypal, and borderline) using three quantifications of ACE exposure (cumulative, individual, and unique risk). Participants were 149 current or recent psychiatric patients, and data analyses were performed through estimation of a series of cross-sectional mediation models. Taken together, results suggest that (1) the association between ACE and PD is moderate, (2) self- and interpersonal dysfunction cross-sectionally mediate this association, (3) after accounting for variance shared among ACEs, associations between specific ACE subtypes and PD were negligible, (4) much of the association between ACE and PD is accounted for by general processes impacted by all forms of ACE and implicated in all forms of PD, and (5) emotional neglect may uniquely contribute to self- and interpersonal dysfunction and thereby, PD risk.