Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosis and Symptoms in Outpatient Youth as Risk Factors for Criminal Offenses and Interpersonal Violence

The Effectiveness of Schema Therapy in Individuals Who Committed Crimes: A Systematic Review

Research suggests that individuals who commit crimes often exhibit various early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). EMSs are a broad and pervasive theme or pattern consisting of memories, emotions, cognitions, and bodily sensations concerning oneself and one's relationships with others. Furthermore, EMSs play a crucial role in the onset and maintenance of different types of offending behaviors, highlighting the need to implement schema therapy (ST) for perpetrators. Therefore, the present systematic review assesses the effectiveness of ST for individuals who committed crimes. Four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Scielo) were searched for studies examining the effectiveness of ST for individuals who committed crimes. Seventeen studies were identified, but only 15 met the criteria for inclusion. Results showed that ST can lead to beneficial effects in EMSs, schema modes, personality symptoms, and risk factors to commit crimes (e.g., cognitive distortions). However, the studies, besides being scarce, revealed some methodological limitations. ST is a promising therapy for individuals who committed crimes, despite the studies' methodological shortcomings, which prevent us from drawing more firm conclusions. Although promising, more research is needed to enhance our understanding of the impact of ST therapies in forensic settings.

Neighbourhood characteristics and the treated incidence rate of borderline personality pathology among young people

OBJECTIVE

The impact of the wider social environment, such as neighbourhood characteristics, has not been examined in the development of borderline personality disorder. This study aimed to determine whether the treated incidence rate of full-threshold borderline personality disorder and sub-threshold borderline personality disorder, collectively termed borderline personality pathology, was associated with the specific neighbourhood characteristics of social deprivation and social fragmentation.

METHOD

This study included young people, aged 15-24 years, who attended Orygen's Helping Young People Early programme, a specialist early intervention service for young people with borderline personality pathology, from 1 August 2000-1 February 2008. Diagnoses were confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders, and census data from 2006 were used to determine the at-risk population and to obtain measures of social deprivation and fragmentation.

RESULTS

The study included 282 young people, of these 78.0% (n = 220) were female and the mean age was 18.3 years (SD = ±2.7). A total of 42.9% (n = 121) met criteria for full-threshold borderline personality disorder, and 57.1% (n = 161) had sub-threshold borderline personality disorder, defined as having three or four of the nine Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV) borderline personality disorder criteria. There was more than a sixfold increase in the treated incidence rate of borderline personality pathology in the neighbourhoods of above average deprivation (Quartile 3) (incidence rate ratio = 6.45, 95% confidence interval: [4.62, 8.98], p < 0.001), and this was consistent in the borderline personality disorder sub-groups. This association was also present in the most socially deprived neighbourhood (Quartile 4) (incidence rate ratio = 1.63, 95% confidence interval: [1.10, 2.44]), however, only for those with sub-threshold borderline personality disorder. The treated incidence of borderline personality pathology increased incrementally with the level of social fragmentation (Quartile 3: incidence rate ratio = 1.93, 95% confidence interval: [1.37, 2.72], Quartile 4: incidence rate ratio = 2.38, 95% confidence interval: [1.77, 3.21]).

CONCLUSION

Borderline personality pathology has a higher treated incidence in the more socially deprived and fragmented neighbourhoods. These findings have implications for funding and location of clinical services for young people with borderline personality pathology. Prospective, longitudinal studies should examine neighbourhood characteristics as potential aetiological factors for borderline personality pathology.

Early Intervention for Personality Disorder

Both the DSM-5 Section III Alternative Model for Personality Disorders and the ICD-11 have introduced a genuinely developmental approach to personality disorder. Among young people with personality disorder, compelling evidence demonstrates a high burden of disease, substantial morbidity, and premature mortality, as well as response to treatment. Yet, early diagnosis and treatment for the disorder have struggled to emerge from its identity as a controversial diagnosis to a mainstream focus for mental health services. Key reasons for this include stigma and discrimination, lack of knowledge about and failure to identify personality disorder among young people, along with the belief that personality disorder must always be addressed through lengthy and specialized individual psychotherapy programs. In fact, evidence suggests that early intervention for personality disorder should be a focus for all mental health clinicians who see young people and is feasible by using widely available clinical skills.

Young People With Borderline Personality Disorder Have an Increased Lifetime Risk of Being the Victim of Interpersonal Violence

This study aimed to examine the lifetime risk of being the victim of criminal or violent offenses among young people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features (1-9 DSM-IV criteria). Demographic and diagnostic data from 492 outpatients who attended a specialist public mental health service for 15- to 25-year-olds between January 1998 and March 2008 were linked with offending data from a state-wide police database, collected between March 1993 and June 2017, in order to establish victimization history. This included information on criminal offenses perpetrated against these young people and intervention orders implemented to protect them from being victimized by another person's violent behavior. Logistic regression analyses, adjusted for sex and co-occurring mental state disorders, were conducted on n = 378 who had complete data (76.5% females). As hypothesized, BPD diagnosis and number of BPD criteria were both significantly associated with an increased risk of being the victim of a violent offense and the complainant of a family violence intervention order. Anger and impulsivity independently predicted a higher risk of being the victim of a violent offense, while unstable relationships, impulsivity, and affective instability independently predicted a higher risk of being the complainant of a family violence intervention order. No significant association was found between BPD and the risk of being the victim of a nonviolent offense. These findings indicate that young people with any BPD features (even below the DSM diagnostic threshold) are at increased risk for victimization by interpersonal violence. Moreover, this risk increases according to the number of BPD criteria. This issue needs to be addressed by prevention and early intervention programs (e.g., by working on self-assertion and interpersonal skills, taking into account the possible influence of previous traumatizing relationship experiences).