Background Parenting an adolescent with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features can be challenging due to, for example, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity and/or self-destructive behavior. Parents confronted with challenging behavior of their child, may experience less parental-self-efficacy (PSE). Subsequently this lower PSE might strengthen the relationship between low parental support and BPD features.
Aim To increase our understanding of the association between parenting related factors and features of BPD in adolescents.
Method The sample consisted of 81 adolescents, in the age of 13-21, from a clinical population and their parents. Parents completed (online) questionnaires on parental self-efficacy and adolescents reported on parental support and BPD features.
Results Adolescents who experienced lower parental support reported more BPD features. Lower parental self-efficacy was not related to BPD features in adolescence, but (more) self-efficacy was related to (older) age. Subsequently no evidence was found for a combined effect of perceived parental support and parental self-efficacy on adolescent BPD features.
Conclusion Adolescents in a clinical population with higher levels of BPD perceived lower levels of parental support. Parental self-efficacy was not related to levels of BPD. This research is a first step in understanding parenting related factors and BPD features. Longitudinal research is needed to gain more insight in transactions between parenting related factors and symptoms of adolescent BPD.