AN INVESTIGATION OF BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CORRELATES OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER IN ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex a mental health condition that develops over time through an intricate interaction between a person’s biology (i.e., an emotional vulnerability) and their environment (i.e., invalidating social context). BPD can greatly impact a person’s ability to function. The central feature of BPD is emotion dysregulation. This means that individuals with BPD have a difficult time identifying, labeling, communicating, and managing their (often heightened) emotional experiences. Emotion dysregulation, then, often causes individuals with BPD to experience difficulties with their identity (i.e., not knowing who they are if they cannot identify/predict how they feel), challenges in their relationships (i.e., their beliefs about others can be emotion-dependent), distortions in reality (e.g., surroundings appear distorted when experiencing intense distress), and leads them to engage in impulsive and self-harming behaviours (e.g., substance use, cutting, etc.). Research has illustrated that BPD symptoms typically peak in late adolescence (ages 14-17 years); however, there remains skepticism about diagnosing BPD in adolescents. Although there is a substantial field of research examining BPD in adolescents, this area of study is relatively new and limited in scope when compared with the adult BPD literature. The purpose of this thesis was to examine putative biological and social correlates associated with BPD in adolescents. The first study investigates differences in frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha asymmetry (FAA) and alpha power at rest, a biological proxy of emotion regulation, between BPD and non-BPD adolescents. The second study assesses the relation between BPD symptoms and feelings of rejection following a social exclusion paradigm. The third study, then, extends Studies 1 and 2 by examining whether brain activity (i.e., FAA) moderates the relation between BPD symptoms and feelings of rejection. We hope this research extends our understanding of BPD in adolescents, provides validity to the adolescent BPD diagnosis, and ultimately helps to improve the management and treatment of BPD in adolescents.