Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan;32(Suppl):93-114.
doi: 10.1521/pedi.2018.32.supp.93.

Attachment-Related Regulatory Processes Moderate the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Stress Reaction in Borderline Personality Disorder

Johannes C Ehrenthal  1   2 , Kenneth N Levy  1 , Lori N Scott  3 , Douglas A Granger  4   5   6
Affiliations

Attachment-Related Regulatory Processes Moderate the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Stress Reaction in Borderline Personality Disorder

Johannes C Ehrenthal et al. J Pers Disord. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

In this study, the authors explored whether attachment insecurity moderates the effects of adverse childhood experiences on stress reactivity in the context of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Participants were 113 women (39 with BPD, 15 with some BPD criteria present, 59 without any BPD symptoms) who participated in the Trier Social Stress Test. Saliva samples were collected before and after the stressor and assayed for salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and cortisol. Adverse childhood experiences were measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and attachment by the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire. Results revealed that attachment avoidance and a combination of more adverse childhood experiences and attachment insecurity resulted in higher sAA levels and differences in reactivity to the stressor. Interactions between attachment anxiety and adverse childhood experiences were related to blunted cortisol reactivity. The results suggest that the influence of adverse childhood experiences on stress regulation in BPD may be moderated by attachment-related regulatory processes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Statement

In the interest of full disclosure, DAG is the founder of Salimetrics LLC and Salivabio LLC (Carlsbad, CA), serves as the companies’ chief scientific and strategy advisor, and these relationships are managed by the policies of the committees on conflict of interest at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of California at Irvine. Drs. Johannes C. Ehrenthal, Kenneth N. Levy, and Lori N. Scott and report no competing interests

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
    1. Ball JS, Links PS. Borderline personality disorder and childhood trauma: Evidence for a causal relationship. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2009;11(1):63–68. - PubMed
    1. Bangasser DA, Valentino RJ. Sex differences in molecular and cellular substrates of stress. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. 2012;32(5):709–723. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bedics JD, Atkins DC, Comtois KA, Linehan MM. Weekly therapist ratings of the therapeutic relationship and patient introject during the course of dialectical behavioral therapy for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy. 2012;49(2):231–240. - PubMed
    1. Beebe B, Jaffe J, Markese S, Buck K, Chen H, Cohen P, et al. The origins of 12-month attachment: a microanalysis of 4-month mother-infant interaction. Attachment & Human Development. 2010;12(1–2):3–141. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms