Abstract
Maladaptive schemas are hypothesized to play a significant role in the development and maintenance of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This study investigates which maladaptive schemas are present early in the course of BPD and whether specific maladaptive schemas are associated with particular BPD diagnostic criteria during this phase. Thirty outpatients (aged 15–24) diagnosed with BPD and 28 community controls completed the Young Schema Questionnaire—Short Form. Compared to controls, the BPD group had significantly higher scores for most maladaptive schemas and their scores were clinically elevated across all schema domains. BPD diagnostic criteria and schema profiles showed substantial heterogeneity and were not related to one another. These findings do not support the association of specific maladaptive schemas with BPD and emphasize the importance of individual case formulation of diagnostic and schema features in the early phase of BPD.
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Notes
As there was a significant difference in gender ratio between the two groups, all analyses were re-computed excluding males from the sample. The overall pattern of results, as presented in Table 1, remained unchanged when based on female participants only.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all participants in the study and the clinicians and researchers of Orygen Youth Health. Particular thanks go to the staff of the HYPE Clinic, along with Ms Emma McDougall, Dr Martina Jovev, Dr Louise McCutcheon, Ms Suraya Kamsani and Mr Andrew Lin for assistance with data collection. Orygen Youth Health Research Centre is funded by an unrestricted grant from the Colonial Foundation, Melbourne, Australia. This study also received support from the School of Psychology and Psychiatry at Monash University.
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Lawrence, K.A., Allen, J.S. & Chanen, A.M. A Study of Maladaptive Schemas and Borderline Personality Disorder in Young People. Cogn Ther Res 35, 30–39 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9292-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9292-4