Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study

Abstract Background Axis 1 disorders often occur in combination with borderline personality disorders (BPD), which complicates treatment and diagnosis. Also, childhood trauma is found to be an underlying factor in patients with BPD. Considering the various statistics and the importance of accompanim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sabahat Lavvaf, Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami, Mahdieh Nasiri, Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-03-01
Series:Middle East Current Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-025-00511-3
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850252108587073536
author Sabahat Lavvaf
Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami
Mahdieh Nasiri
Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini
author_facet Sabahat Lavvaf
Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami
Mahdieh Nasiri
Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini
author_sort Sabahat Lavvaf
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Axis 1 disorders often occur in combination with borderline personality disorders (BPD), which complicates treatment and diagnosis. Also, childhood trauma is found to be an underlying factor in patients with BPD. Considering the various statistics and the importance of accompaniment, this study aims to determine the prevalence of Axis 1 disorders in BPD and evaluate the association with childhood trauma. Materials and methods In this descriptive-analytical study, 239 patients with BPD were examined among patients referred to the psychiatric hospital in Sari, North of Iran. To confirm the diagnosis, the semi-structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID-1) was performed, and the history of childhood trauma was assessed with the Early Trauma Inventory-Self Report. Data after collection was entered into SPSS software and using descriptive statistics like absolute and relative abundance. Mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics were analyzed. Results The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) was 59.8%, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) 53.1%, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) 17.6%, and phobias 23.4% in BPD. There was also a significant association between childhood emotional trauma and MDD (P = 0.03) and substance use disorder (SUD, P = 0.008), neglect trauma with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, P = 0.03), phobia (P = 0.001) and GAD (P = 0.02), and physical and sexual trauma with SUD (P = 0.02). Conclusion Axis 1 disorders are common in patients with BPD. Childhood trauma with its effects on the brain of children and adolescents can lead to chronic disabilities in coping with arousal fluctuations and consequently to increased emotional disturbances including BPD and depression, which in turn leads to self-injurious behavior.
format Article
id doaj-art-ee3bd44a21a04f9ba13ea1d693e3737b
institution OA Journals
issn 2090-5416
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Middle East Current Psychiatry
spelling doaj-art-ee3bd44a21a04f9ba13ea1d693e3737b2025-08-20T01:57:44ZengSpringerOpenMiddle East Current Psychiatry2090-54162025-03-013211810.1186/s43045-025-00511-3Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational studySabahat Lavvaf0Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami1Mahdieh Nasiri2Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini3Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical SciencesTraditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical SciencesPsychosomatic Research Center, Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical SciencesAbstract Background Axis 1 disorders often occur in combination with borderline personality disorders (BPD), which complicates treatment and diagnosis. Also, childhood trauma is found to be an underlying factor in patients with BPD. Considering the various statistics and the importance of accompaniment, this study aims to determine the prevalence of Axis 1 disorders in BPD and evaluate the association with childhood trauma. Materials and methods In this descriptive-analytical study, 239 patients with BPD were examined among patients referred to the psychiatric hospital in Sari, North of Iran. To confirm the diagnosis, the semi-structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID-1) was performed, and the history of childhood trauma was assessed with the Early Trauma Inventory-Self Report. Data after collection was entered into SPSS software and using descriptive statistics like absolute and relative abundance. Mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics were analyzed. Results The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) was 59.8%, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) 53.1%, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) 17.6%, and phobias 23.4% in BPD. There was also a significant association between childhood emotional trauma and MDD (P = 0.03) and substance use disorder (SUD, P = 0.008), neglect trauma with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, P = 0.03), phobia (P = 0.001) and GAD (P = 0.02), and physical and sexual trauma with SUD (P = 0.02). Conclusion Axis 1 disorders are common in patients with BPD. Childhood trauma with its effects on the brain of children and adolescents can lead to chronic disabilities in coping with arousal fluctuations and consequently to increased emotional disturbances including BPD and depression, which in turn leads to self-injurious behavior.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-025-00511-3Borderline personality disorderChildhood traumaAxis 1 disorders
spellingShingle Sabahat Lavvaf
Masoumeh Bagheri-Nesami
Mahdieh Nasiri
Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini
Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
Middle East Current Psychiatry
Borderline personality disorder
Childhood trauma
Axis 1 disorders
title Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
title_full Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
title_fullStr Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
title_full_unstemmed Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
title_short Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder: a correlational study
title_sort childhood trauma and axis i disorders in borderline personality disorder a correlational study
topic Borderline personality disorder
Childhood trauma
Axis 1 disorders
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-025-00511-3
work_keys_str_mv AT sabahatlavvaf childhoodtraumaandaxisidisordersinborderlinepersonalitydisorderacorrelationalstudy
AT masoumehbagherinesami childhoodtraumaandaxisidisordersinborderlinepersonalitydisorderacorrelationalstudy
AT mahdiehnasiri childhoodtraumaandaxisidisordersinborderlinepersonalitydisorderacorrelationalstudy
AT seyedhamzehhosseini childhoodtraumaandaxisidisordersinborderlinepersonalitydisorderacorrelationalstudy