Borderline Personality Disorder: Maternal Practices and Pos- sible Parenting Interventions

Seventy-five percent of individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are women. Many of these women are also likely to be mothers and, considering the extensive functional impairments associated with BPD, probably experience many difficulties parenting. However, there is little empirical attention towards the effects of BPD on maternal practices, and the development of treatment for such women. Furthermore, given that parenting impacts both mother and child, and that maternal BPD places children at risk for exhibiting emotional, and behavioural problems, developing a parenting intervention for this high-risk population is important. Accordingly, there are three objectives for this research review. First, past literature pertaining to parenting practices and behaviours of mothers with BPD will be examined. The review will demonstrate that parenting behaviours include intrusively insensitive and affectively dysregulated comments and behaviours, as well as role confusion, disorganized verbal, emotional, and behavioural expressions, and less structured interactions with their children. Next, given that interventions for mothers with BPD and their children do not exist, attachment-based and psychoeducation-based interventions—which address improving parent-child relations regardless of diagnoses— will be compared and contrasted. Finally, strategies for developing a parenting intervention for mothers with BPD will be discussed. Abstract Borderline Personality Disorder: Maternal Practices and Possible Parenting Interventions