The interaction of childhood maltreatment, sex, and borderline personality features in the prediction of the cortisol awakening response in adolescents
Aims: The study aimed to investigate childhood maltreatment, sex, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms as prospective predictors of adolescent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. Method: A sample of 69 adolescents (30 female and 39 male) were selected from a larger...
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
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March 11, 2017
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| In: |
Psychopathology
Year: 2017, Volume: 50, Issue: 3, Pages: 188-194 |
| ISSN: | 1423-033X |
| DOI: | 10.1159/000456549 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000456549 Verlag, Volltext: https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/456549 
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| Author Notes: | Michael Kaess, Sarah Whittle, Julian G. Simmons, Martina Jovev, Nicholas B. Allen, Andrew M. Chanen |
| Summary: | Aims: The study aimed to investigate childhood maltreatment, sex, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms as prospective predictors of adolescent hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. Method: A sample of 69 adolescents (30 female and 39 male) were selected from a larger longitudinal study of adolescent development and assessed at 3 time points. BPD symptoms were assessed at T1 (approx. 12.5 years), childhood maltreatment was assessed at T2 (approx. 14.9 years), and multiple assessments of salivary cortisol (cortisol awakening response; CAR) were undertaken at T3 (approx. 15.5 years). Results: Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed a significant main effect for childhood maltreatment but not for early BPD symptoms as a predictor of lower CAR in adolescence (p = 0.047). The association between childhood maltreatment and attenuated CAR was moderated by both early BPD symptoms (p = 0.024; no childhood maltreatment-dependent attenuation of CAR in the presence of BPD symptoms) and sex (p = 0.012; childhood maltreatment-dependent attenuation of CAR in females only). Furthermore, a 3-way BPD × childhood maltreatment × sex interaction (p = 0.041) indicated that the moderating effect of BPD symptoms was present in females only. Conclusion: These findings indicate that attenuation of the HPA axis occurs as a response to early maltreatment rather than being related to the early occurrence of BPD pathology. Traumatized female individuals with BPD symptoms might bypass adaptive HPA axis attenuation. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 31.07.2018 Published online: March 11, 2017 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1423-033X |
| DOI: | 10.1159/000456549 |