Perceived Parenting and Borderline Personality Features during Adolescence

This study investigates the associations between perceived parenting and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescents. The relations between components of parenting and BPD features were explored. Participants (N = 270; mean age = 15.3) assessed their own BPD features (Personality Assessment Inventory) and both of their parents' parenting practices (Parents as Social Context Questionnaire; Perceived Parental Autonomy Support Scale). SEM results suggest that controlling, rejecting and chaotic parenting all predicted global BPD, and all these parenting components were significantly associated with at least one BPD feature. Chaotic parenting, a relatively neglected construct in the BPD literature, seems to play an important role in early BPD.