Relationships between parental borderline symptom severity, empathy, parenting styles and child psychopathology
Date
2022
Authors
Bartsch, D.R.
Roberts, R.
Proeve, M.
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Journal article
Citation
Clinical Psychologist, 2022; 26(2):211-221
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Dianna R. Bartsch, Rachel Roberts, Michael Proeve
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Abstract
Objectives: Children of parents diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at greater risk of psychopathology compared to children of healthy controls and parents diagnosed with another mental illness. Parental and child psychopathology are likely to be related via multiple pathways. The current study explored relationships between parental borderline symptom severity, parental empathy, parenting style, and child psychopathology. Methods: Parents diagnosed with BPD were recruited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Sixty-four parents completed questionnaires assessing borderline symptom severity, parental empathy, and parenting style. Parental reports of child psychopathology were obtained for 64 children (aged 4–17) utilising the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate the relationships between variables. Two three-path serial mediation models were tested. Results: Parental borderline symptom severity was negatively associated with parental empathy, and positively associated with maladaptive parenting styles. Parental borderline symptom severity was related to child psychopathology via two indirect pathways 1) authoritarian parenting style and 2) through parental empathy’s relationship with authoritarian parenting. Conclusions: Future research is recommended to develop and evaluate parenting programme for parents experiencing borderline symptoms and their school-aged children.
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© 2022 Australian Psychological Society