Childhood origins of self-destructive behavior

Article Abstract:

Seven to 10 percent of psychiatric patients engage in self-injurious behaviors, and about 5 percent of those with personality disorders commit suicide. Deliberate self-harm differs from suicidal behavior: it usually begins in adolescence, occurs on numerous occasions, is often performed to provide some type of relief (e.g., patients report feeling numb or dead prior to hurting themselves), and is repeated frequently. There is frequently a childhood history of physical or sexual abuse among self-injurious patients. Some studies have even reported a significant history of repeated surgeries. In other mammals, self-injurious behavior may occur as a result of severe disruptions in attachment with the parent. Using historical and prospective data, 74 subjects aged 18 to 39 years with personality disorders or bipolar illness were studied over a four-year period. Behaviors such as suicide attempts, self-injury, and eating disorders were evaluated. The incidence of these behaviors was then correlated with reports of childhood trauma and disruptions in parental care. Sexual and physical abuse were significantly correlated with later self-injurious behavior in this group. Such abuse was most predictive of self-cutting and suicide attempts. Those who continued this behavior over the four-year period tended to have the most severe histories. It is concluded that childhood trauma is associated with self-injurious behavior later in life, and that the nature of the trauma and the age at which it occurs affects the specific type of self-injury that results. Anger, interpersonal threat to safety, and unfulfilled emotional needs are thought to be particular triggers for self-injury. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Demographic aspects, Self-destructive behavior, Self injurious behavior, Self-mutilation, Self mutilation

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The relationship between thought disorder and psychotic symptoms in borderline personality disorder

Article Abstract:

The cases of 49 adults between the ages of 18 and 39 with personality and affective disorders were studied to determine the effectiveness of the Thought Disorder Index (TDI), a measure of thought disorder. Significant relationships were found between TDI percentage score and psychotic and psychotic-like symptoms on follow-up, suggesting that TDI is a valid instrument for predicting such disorders among personality and affective disorder patients. In fact, the amount of predictive information obtained by the TDI was over and above that obtained by a structured psychiatric interview. The study also found that clinical evidence of psychosis is partly related to an underlying potential for disordered thinking, therefore awareness of a patient's likelihood to develop such symptoms can help clinicians in their treatment approaches.

Evaluation, Psychological tests, Psychoses, Psychotic disorders

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Childhood trauma in borderline personality disorder

Article Abstract:

The authors interviewed patients with borderline personality disorder, borderline traits and no borderline disorder with closely related diagnoses to determine the presence of major childhood trauma. Significantly more borderline subjects (four out of five) suffered childhood traumas such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, or the witnessing of serious domestic violence. It was less common for patients with borderline traits to have undergone childhood traumas and least common in the nonborderline subjects. A strong link exists between the history of abuse in childhood and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Child abuse

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