Bullying Perpetration and Victimization as Social Mechanisms in the Development of Borderline Personality Traits during Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study

Childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, borderline personality feature, suicidal risk in adolescents: Direct and indirect associations among developmental trajectories

INTRODUCTION

Childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, and borderline personality traits have all been shown to be linked to suicidal risk. However, there remains a need to illuminate the possible direct and indirect pathways among them from a developmental perspective that could serve as intervention targets. This study thus aimed to investigate the direct and indirect relationships among developmental trajectories of childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, borderline personality feature, and suicidal risk in adolescents.

METHODS

A total of 1648 Chinese adolescents (48.12% boys; Mage = 13.69; SD = 0.82) in junior middle schools completed self-report measures on three-time points across 1 year. Latent growth curve modeling was used to evaluate the direct and indirect relationships among the developmental trajectories of the aforementioned study variables.

RESULTS

The developmental trajectories of childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, and borderline personality feature were positively and directly related to the developmental trajectory of suicidal risk; and the developmental trajectories of childhood maltreatment, peer victimization were indirectly related to the developmental trajectory of suicidal risk through the mediating effect of the developmental trajectory of borderline personality feature.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings elucidated the direct and indirect longitudinal relationships among childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, borderline personality feature, and suicidal risk, highlighting that interventions should target childhood maltreatment, peer victimization, and borderline personality feature to decrease suicidal risk in adolescents with a developmental perspective.

A Longitudinal Network of Borderline-Related Trait Vulnerabilities from Childhood to Adolescence

Early maladaptive traits are predictive of later borderline personality pathology (BPP), but little is known about their dynamic interplay over time. This is an important issue to address, however, as significant differences in the 'clinical weight' of various traits constituting the early BPP trait phenotype may inform the field on important target constructs from an early intervention perspective. Therefore, the current study aims to uncover the complex dependencies between BPP traits across the crucial developmental period of childhood and adolescence, by using longitudinal network analysis. Both between- and within-person networks were constructed to identify how early mother-reported borderline-related traits are connected across a timespan of six years (ntime 1 = 718, Mtime1 = 10.73 years, SDtime1 = 1.39, 55.1% girls). Overall, the temporal network suggested various trait interdependencies, with internalizing traits being particularly influential in the development of the BPP trait network structure. At the same time, externalizing traits likely inhibit the negative effects of these core traits. In addition, results also revealed that internalizing and externalizing clusters of early borderline-related traits are linked through emotional lability. Implications of these findings are discussed in view of the change mechanisms at play and potential targets for early intervention.

Effects of Personality Traits and Mentalization on Workplace Bullying Experiences among Intensive Care Unit Nurses

Aim. This study aimed to investigate the effects of intensive care unit nurses’ personality traits and mentalization on workplace bullying after controlling for organizational culture. Background. Nurses’ personality traits and mentalization may significantly influence workplace bullying. Methods. This cross-sectional study collected data from 416 nurses using an online survey in July 2022. Major variables were evaluated using the Pathological Narcissism Inventory, Perfectionistic Self-Presentation and Psychological Distress Scale, Short Dark Triad, Mentalization Scale, Positive Nursing Organizational Culture Measurement Tool, and the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. . A multiple regression analysis was performed. Results. Narcissistic vulnerability, mentalization, and perfectionistic self-presentation significantly influence workplace bullying (victim aspect). Dark personality, mentalization, and perfectionistic self-presentation significantly influence workplace bullying (perpetrator aspect). Conclusions. Individual nurses could become either victims of bullying or perpetrators according to their personality traits. Therefore, it is necessary to determine their personality traits, so that they do not become influencing factors in workplace bullying. Implications for Nursing Management. Efforts at a nursing organization level are crucial to understand nurses’ personality traits, enhance their mentalization, minimize the manifestations of the negative aspects of their traits, and positively affect the prevention and alleviation of workplace bullying.