Early family environment, borderline personality symptoms, and somatic preoccupation among internal medicine outpatients.

BACKGROUND

The literature on the role of early somatic concerns in children, and their relationship to borderline personality and somatic preoccupation, is scant.

METHOD

In this study, using a cross-sectional approach, a sample of convenience, and self-report measures, we examined among a sample of 116 internal medicine outpatients whether any somatic concerns during childhood might relate to borderline personality symptoms and/or somatic preoccupation in adulthood.

RESULTS

We found that several somatic concerns during childhood correlated with the measures for borderline personality symptoms and somatic preoccupation. When these variables were analyzed through 2 multiple regression analyses, the only uniquely significant predictor for both borderline personality symptoms and somatic preoccupation was whether the respondent had had an unusual or complicated medical illness during childhood.

CONCLUSIONS

Unusual or complicated medical illnesses in childhood may be risk factors for both borderline personality and somatic preoccupation in adulthood.