Borderline features in Vietnamese adolescence: the roles of childhood trauma, parental bonding, and family functioning

Abstract

Childhood trauma and parental bonding have been found to be among the risk factors for the development of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in individualist cultures. Whether these outcomes are universal or culture-specific remains a question. Although mounting evidence has been reported about the important roles of parental care and control in the development of BPD, not much has been done to investigate the effects of care and control on BPD at the family level. To bridge these gaps of knowledge, an investigation of the independent and collective effects of childhood trauma, parental bonding and family functioning variables on borderline personality features (BPF) in Vietnam, a collectivist culture, was conducted for the current study. A cross sectional design employing hierarchical regression analyses was used with a sample of 500 Vietnamese adolescents. Findings revealed both convergent and divergent results from extant literature. Among the independent variables, Emotional Abuse and Neglect, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse (childhood trauma), Maternal Overprotection (parental bonding), and Rigid (family functioning) were found to be significant predictors of BPF. Family functioning accounted for a statistically significant additional amount of variances in BPF beyond and above what could be explained by childhood trauma and parental bonding. The uniqueness of the Vietnamese culture and Confucianism was analyzed in relation to research outcomes. Implications for clinical practice and future research within the context of the Vietnamese and Confucian culture were discussed.