Anxious adult attachment may mediate the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and borderline personality disorder

Background: Childhood trauma has been associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, research has not yet provided conclusive evidence concerning the mediating mechanisms. Methods: Seventy women diagnosed with BPD were compared with other 60 women who met DSM-IV criteria for other personality disorders on measures of childhood trauma and attachment. Results: Patients with BPD reported higher severity of emotional, physical and sexual abuse than patients with other personality disorders. Moreover, BPD patients also showed greater preoccupied–anxious adult attachment. At model 1, logistic regression analysis revealed that only childhood emotional abuse predicted the occurrence of BPD. At model 2, this association was no longer significant, and the addition of preoccupied–anxious adult attachment was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of BPD diagnosis. Conclusions: These findings support a specific relationship between childhood emotional abuse and the occurrence of BPD, which may be accounted for by preoccupied–anxious adult attachment.