Is Child Maltreatment a Risk Factor for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review of Prospective Longitudinal Studies

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a clinical condition associated with numerous individual and collective negative consequences. According to several etiological theories and retrospective research, child maltreatment (CM) may be considered a central factor explaining BPD development. In order to verify this hypothesis, a systematic review of prospective longitudinal studies was conducted. Following searches in five electronic databases, 19 articles that examined the relationship between CM (i.e., physical, sexual and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and BPD (i.e., diagnosis or severity score) were selected. Overall, the results only partly confirm the hypothesis that CM is a risk factor for BPD. Evidence for a prospective relationship between CM and later BPD is stronger in studies using a symptom count compared to a categorical diagnosis. However, the small number of studies precludes assessing the differential impacts between CM types and BPD. Available prospective longitudinal studies do not unequivocally support the idea that CM is a robust risk factor for BPD. Future research needs are discussed.