Description
Being exposed to violence and maltreatment as a child is a severe and well-documented risk factor for abnormal development. Children of mothers with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at a particularly high risk of experiencing violence and maltreatment. There is compelling evidence that exposure to environmental adversity during childhood is associated with negative outcomes in adulthood. While the adverse impact of maternal BPD and the associated violent parenting practices on their children are known, the disorder-specific impact of maternal BPD on their children and the potential beneficial effects of a disorder-specific parent training on the children have not yet been investigated in detail.
Therefore, the overall goal of the ProChild study is to improve prevention of maltreatment and to promote mental health in children of mothers with borderline personality disorder (BPD) by strengthening mothers’ parenting skills.
The first aim of the present sub-project 2 is to examine the emotion regulation strategies and mental health status of children of mothers with BPD compared to a) children of mothers with anxiety disorders or depression and b) to children of mothers with no mental disorder. Secondly, the impact of a disorder-specific parenting program on the children’s emotion regulation and mental health is studied. Additionally, potential mediators and moderators will be considered. Children’s mental health status will be assessed with a structured Interview (Baby-DIPS and sub-sections of the Kinder-DIPS). Children’s temperament will be assessed via maternal report using questionnaires. Emotion regulation of the children will be explored using age-appropriate waiting tasks. All parameters are measured before and after the parenting training.
A total of 324 children between 6
months to 6 years will be recruited, of which 178 account for children
of mothers with BPD, 66 for children of mothers with depressive or
anxiety disorders, and 80 for children of healthy mothers. Patients will
be recruited by contacting individual therapists who specialize in BPD
treatment. We assume that 10% will not meet the inclusion criteria.
Furthermore, we expect a dropout rate of 25%. Consequently, final
analysis will be conducted with 150 children of mothers with BPD and 70
control children.
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