Background
Recently, the nature of personality disorders and their relationship with normal personality
traits has received extensive attention. The five-factor model (FFM) of personality,
consisting of the personality traits neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience,
agreeableness, and conscientiousness, is one of the proposed models to conceptualize
personality disorders as maladaptive variants of continuously distributed personality
traits.
Methods
The present study examined the phenotypic and genetic association between borderline
personality and FFM personality traits. Data were available for 4403 monozygotic twins,
4425 dizygotic twins, and 1661 siblings from 6140 Dutch, Belgian, and Australian families.
Results
Broad-sense heritability estimates for neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, openness to experience, and borderline personality were 43%, 36%, 43%,
47%, 54%, and 45%, respectively. Phenotypic correlations between borderline personality
and the FFM personality traits ranged from .06 for openness to experience to .68 for
neuroticism. Multiple regression analyses showed that a combination of high neuroticism
and low agreeableness best predicted borderline personality. Multivariate genetic
analyses showed the genetic factors that influence individual differences in neuroticism,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion account for all genetic liability
to borderline personality. Unique environmental effects on borderline personality,
however, were not completely shared with those for the FFM traits (33% is unique to
borderline personality).
Conclusions
Borderline personality shares all genetic variation with neuroticism, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, and extraversion. The unique environmental influences specific
to borderline personality may cause individuals with a specific pattern of personality
traits to cross a threshold and develop borderline personality.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 14, 2009
Accepted:
July 20,
2009
Received in revised form:
June 30,
2009
Received:
May 10,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
