Adolescent alcohol use disorders predict adult borderline personality.

BACKGROUND

This study investigated adolescent alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and other characteristics as predictors of adult borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms.

METHODS

Adolescents with AUDs (n = 355) were recruited from clinical treatment sources and adolescents without AUDs (n = 169) were recruited from the community. During an adolescent assessment (age 16+/-1.3), childhood physical and/or sexual abuse history, AUDs and associated psychiatric disorders were measured via semi-structured interviews. Symptoms of BPD were measured in a young adult follow-up assessment (age 22+/-2.4). Latent class analysis was utilized to classify individuals into four categories based upon BPD symptom profiles.

RESULTS

Multinomial regression models indicated that adolescent AUDs and other psychiatric disorders mediated the relationship between child physical and/or sexual abuse and adult BPD latent class.

CONCLUSIONS

Results were consistent with a developmental conceptualization of BPD, with AUDs and other adolescent psychopathology antecedents representing developmentally relevant forms of dysregulation, and in their more severe forms culminating in borderline symptomatology.