Cause Violence
Consequently, there are various events and environmental influences in childhood which are considered risk factors and which can favour the development of a borderline syndrome. An important factor appears to be the correct learning of affect control. Children who are forbidden to live out their feelings during childhood or who, on the contrary, learn to give in to every small change of feeling are more susceptible to the impulsive symptoms of borderline syndrome.
If, on the contrary, children learn appropriate coping strategies, this not only helps them enormously in their further life, but can also have a preventive effect with regard to the borderline syndrome and other psychological disorders. Emotional or physical stress can also have a negative effect on the development of healthy affect control if the child does not learn appropriate coping strategies. Dramatic life events such as the divorce of parents or the loss of a close relative can often overwhelm children.
If the family does not help the child to cope with these experiences, traumas can develop which can hinder the child’s healthy development. A lack of support from the family and an emotional coldness and distance from parents or similarly important caregivers can have a negative influence on the development of self-esteem and promote the development of a borderline syndrome. Language abuse, such as constantly belittling the child or verbal abuse, can also erode the self-esteem of the person concerned.
Restrictions, e.g. due to the illness of one or both parents, can also cause the child to feel that he or she is not being taken seriously and has to constantly hold back. This has a negative effect on the own feeling of wishes and needs and on the way they are expressed. The resulting difficulties in implementing social behaviour, such as how to behave appropriately when talking to other people, can be the reason for the development of a personality disorder such as borderline syndrome. If someone is prone to mood swings, this can also promote the development of a borderline syndrome if the person concerned does not learn to deal with it.
Cause psychological and/or physical violence
Another important risk factor is the experience of psychological and/or physical violence. This may also have been the experience of domestic violence which did not directly address the person concerned, but remained e.g. violence between parents. In this context, experiences of abuse should also be mentioned in particular.
Both physical and psychological abuse can cause the development of a borderline syndrome or promote its development. Physical abuse has been proven in up to 70% of patients with borderline syndrome. Other personality disorders can also occur in addition to borderline syndrome or promote its development.
Personality disorders are deeply ingrained and persistent behaviours that manifest themselves as recurrent, unchanging reactions to changing personal and social situations and life events. The borderline to normal personality traits is often blurred and is most likely to be determined by the inappropriateness of the pattern of experience and behaviour. In particular avoidance, dependency and compulsive personality disorders occur in connection with the borderline syndrome.
