AUTHOR=Cervantes Breana R. , Kerr Sophie , Vanwoerden Salome , Sharp Carla 

TITLE=Operationalizing intimacy and identity aspects of personality functioning in relation to personality disorder in adolescents

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1153274

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1153274

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=According to dimensional models of personality pathology, deficits in interpersonal (intimacy and empathy) and self (identity and self-direction) function (Criterion A) are core to all personality disorders. These aspects of personality functioning (Criterion A) have seldom been evaluated for how they might relate to one another in the context of personality pathology in adolescents. Moreover, the use of performance-based measures to evaluate aspects of Criterion A function remains an untapped resource. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate relations between two features of Criterion A, maladaptive intimacy and maladaptive identity, in adolescence by leveraging a performance-based approach to studying intimacy, operationalized in a developmentally relevant way (perceived parental closeness). We hypothesized that greater distance in perceived parental closeness would be associated with higher levels of borderline features, as well as higher levels of identity diffusion, and that identity diffusion would account for the relationship between intimacy and personality pathology. The sample included 131 inpatient adolescents (Mage = 15.35, 70.2% female) and their parents. Results indicated that intimacy (perceived parental closeness) with both mothers and fathers was significantly associated with levels of identity diffusion and borderline features. In addition, greater feelings of closeness with parents were associated with lower severity of borderline features via healthier identity function. Implications of the results, limitations, and future directions are discussed.