Specific aims
Aim 1:
To initiate a twin study of the genetics of Borderline Personality Disorder,
as well as of the personality dimensions that underlie the symptoms of this
disorder.
Aim 2:
To provide data regarding the prevalence of features of BPD in a community
sample.
Aim 3:
To conduct genetic analyses of the features of BPD as assessed by the
Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline features (PAI-BOR) scale.10
Aim 4:
To conduct multivariate genetic analyses to determine the extent to which the
NEO-PIR2 assesses the same dimensions of genetic variation as do the PAI-BOR
items.
Summary
The sample consists of approximately 7,000 Australian twin pairs from a birth
cohort of 1972 - 1985 (ages 18-31 at the time of the proposed study) obtained
through the Australian Twin Registry. All twins will be approached and
invited to complete an online questionnaire (45-60 minutes) which contains
the following sections: the Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline
Features (PAI-BOR) Scale; revised NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R);
personal and family details (demographic information); suicide and self-harm;
tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use; and general health. The SIDP-IV will be
administered as a telephone interview to a sub-sample of 300 respondents -
100 who scored >60 (raw score) on the PAI-BOR (extreme borderline features
group; 2 SDs above the community mean); 100 participants who scored between
38-59 (elevated borderline features group; 1 SD above the community mean);
and 100 participants who scored less than 38 (low borderline features group).
Research outcome
The completion of this study will move the field forward for several reasons.
First, a better estimate of the distribution of BPD features in the community
will be obtained. Second, we will be able to estimate the degree of genetic
and environmental influence on the manifestation of BPD features, as well as
the degree to which borderline features and personality traits have common
genetic influences. Finally, completion of this study will set the stage for
important future studies: (1) we will seek NIH funding to fully assess all
twins in this cohort using Axis I and Axis II structured interviews; and (2)
our ascertained sample (along with the similarly ascertained Dutch sample;
see Trull & Boomsma application) will provide a large enough sample to
conduct linkage and association studies of BPD. Further, the Dutch sample
will be used as a replication sample, giving us more confidence in the
results obtained.
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