Premium
Exploring resilience and borderline personality disorder: A qualitative study of pairs of sisters
Author(s) -
Paris Joel,
Perlin Jewel,
Laporte Lise,
Fitzpatrick Marilyn,
DeStefano Jack
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
personality and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1932-863X
pISSN - 1932-8621
DOI - 10.1002/pmh.1261
Subject(s) - psychology , borderline personality disorder , resilience (materials science) , psychological resilience , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , personality , qualitative research , developmental psychology , psychoanalysis , sociology , social science , physics , thermodynamics
Research indicates that a proportion of children exposed to childhood abuse develop psychological symptoms and are at risk for borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, not all maltreated children develop BPD as adults. This qualitative study explores some of the protective factors that contribute to resilient outcomes. The methods involved interviewing pairs of sisters who both experienced childhood abuse and family dysfunction but only one of whom developed BPD. The themes that emerged included individual, family, external and novel factors (acceptance of the past and the meaning of children). These findings could be helpful for understanding mechanisms of resilience in populations at risk. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.