Childhood Maltreatment Increases Risk for Personality Disorders During Early Adulthood
Abstract
Background Data from a community-based longitudinal study were used to investigate whether childhood abuse and neglect increases risk for personality disorders (PDs) during early adulthood. Methods Psychosocial and psychiatric interviews were administered to a representative community sample of 639 youths and their mothers from 2 counties in the state of New York in 1975, 1983, 1985 to 1986, and 1991 to 1993. Evidence of childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect was obtained from New York State records and from offspring self-reports in 1991 to 1993 when they were young adults. Offspring PDs were assessed in 1991 to 1993. Results Persons with documented childhood abuse or neglect were more than 4 times as likely as those who were not abused or neglected to be diagnosed with PDs during early adulthood after age, parental education, and parental psychiatric disorders were controlled statistically. Childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect were each associated with elevated PD symptom levels during early adulthood after other types of childhood maltreatment were controlled statistically. Of the 12 categories of DSM-IV PD symptoms, 10 were associated with childhood abuse or neglect. Different types of childhood maltreatment were associated with symptoms of specific PDs during early adulthood. Conclusions Persons in the community who have experienced childhood abuse or neglect are considerably more likely than those who were not abused or neglected to have PDs…
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“Such a person may seek therapy with a psychotherapist who has the empirically well-supported belief that trauma or abuse in childhood can cause serious psychological problems (eg, Johnson, Cohen, Brown, Smailes, & Bernstein, 1999 ) and the empirically less well-supported belief that it is common for such abuse to be r…”
BackgroundChildhood Maltreatment, Personality Pathology, and Intimate Partner Aggression
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“…of personality disorders remains uncertain, research suggests they result from a complex interaction between genetic, environmental, epigenetic, and developmental factors, with childhood mistreatment strongly linked to subsequent impairments in both intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning (16).”
- Authors
- Johnson, J. G., Cohen, P., Brown, J., Smailes, E. M., & Bernstein, D. P.
- Affiliations
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (US)
- Venue
- Archives of General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 1999-07-01
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 600
- ISSN
- 0003-990X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2138591945
- Cited by
- 839
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 49
- FWCI
- 27.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH-36971, R01MH036971)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Keywords
- child abuse, childhood abuse, child neglect, personality disorders, early adulthood, physical abuse, sexual abuse, risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Mental Disorders, Child, Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Sexual, Child, Preschool, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Male, New York, Parents, Personality Disorders, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors
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