Risk Factors of Early Onset of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Conceptual Model

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a distressing and multifaceted mental disorder associated with serious functional impairment. Although BPD pathology emerges during adolescence, diagnosis is often delayed since clinicians have trouble distinguishing this personality disorder from physiological developmental crises and fear the risk of stigma and prejudice. However, evidence shows that young people can benefit from early intervention after a scrupulous diagnosis. In order to improve the process of early diagnosis and intervention, a fundamental issue is recognition of risk factors and precursors of BPD. Recently, several antecedents of this disorder have been identified and studied, including precocious environmental factors, temperamental traits, early psychopathological characteristics, and neurobiological correlates. Considering the whole of these factors, we proposed a conceptual model to characterize a high-risk population with early onset of BPD. The purpose is to help clinicians to detect early manifestations and to support preventive strategies.