Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T17:21:13.650Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The developmental line of autonomy in the etiology, dynamics, and treatment of borderline personality disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2005

RICHARD M. RYAN
RICHARD M. RYAN
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is considered as a disorder of autonomy, and is related to both predisposing vulnerabilities and social relationships that fail to support basic psychological needs. Autonomy, which is defined within the self-determination theory as the capacity for self-endorsed action based on integrative, reflective awareness, is discussed as a developmental line that is dependent on specific supports from caregivers. Unresponsiveness, invalidation, or abuse by caregivers is argued to impair the capacity for autonomy and to catalyze an array of processes, both biological and psychological, which impact subsequent development and, in vulnerable individuals, can lead to BPD. Aspects of treatment, including the emphases on validation and acceptance of the patient's experience, and the cultivation of more reflective or mindful regulation of behavior, can be deduced from this analysis of autonomy disturbance, and these in turn have appeared as the cornerstones of effective treatments for BPD.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 987 - 1006
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barkley, R. A. (1997). ADHD and the nature of self-control. New York: Guilford Press.
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology Monographs 4, 1–102.Google Scholar
Bechara, A., Tranel, D., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. R. (1996). Failure to respond autonomically to anticipated future outcomes following damage to prefrontal cortex. Cerebral Cortex 6, 215–225.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., & Freeman, A. (1990). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders. New York: Guilford Press.
Bemporad, J. R., Smith, H. F., Hanson, G., & Cicchetti, D. (1982). Borderline syndromes in childhood: Criteria for diagnosis. American Journal of Psychiatry 139, 596–602.Google Scholar
Benjamin, L. S. (2003). Interpersonal diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Bernheim, K. F., Rescorla, L., & Rocissano, L. (1999). The Lanahan cases in developmental psychopathology. Baltimore, MD: Lanahan Publishers.
Berzirganian, S., Cohen, P., & Brook, J. S. (1993). The impact of mother–child interaction on the development of borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 150, 1836–1842.Google Scholar
Bleiberg, E. (2004). Treating personality disorders in children and adolescents: A relational approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Bradley, S. J. (2000). Affect regulation and the development of psychopathology. New York: Guilford Press.
Brandchaft, B., & Stolorow, R. D. (1994). The difficult patient. In R. Stolorow, G. Atwood, & B. Brandchaft (Eds.), The intersubjective perspective (pp. 93–112). London: Jason Aronson.
Bretherton, I. (1987). New perspectives on attachment relations: Security, communication and internal working models. In J. Osofsky (Ed.), Handbook of infant development (pp. 1061–1100). New York: Wiley.
Bronson, M. B. (2000). Self-regulation in early childhood: Nature and nurture. New York: Guilford Press.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84, 822–848.Google Scholar
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Fostering healthy self-regulation from within and without: A self-determination theory perspective. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 105–124). New York: Wiley.
Bruch, H. (1973). Eating disorders. New York: Basic Books.
Calkins, S. D. (1997). Cardiac vagal tone indices of temperamental reactivity and behavioral regulation in young children. Developmental Psychobiology 31, 125–135.Google Scholar
Calkins, S. D., & Johnson, M. C. (1998). Toddler regulation of distress to frustrating events: Temperamental and maternal correlates. Infant Behavior and Development 21, 379–395.Google Scholar
Chambers, R. A., Taylor, J. R., & Potenza, M. N. (2003). Developmental neurocircuitry of motivation in adolescence: A critical period of addiction vulnerability. American Journal of Psychiatry 160, 1041–1052.Google Scholar
Chirkov, V., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Parent and teacher autonomy-support in Russian and U.S. adolescents: Common effects on well-being and academic motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 32, 618–635.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1991). Fractures in the crystal: Developmental psychopathology and the emergence of self. Developmental Review 11, 271–287.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Sroufe, L. A. (2000). The past as prologue to the future: The times, they've been a-changin' [Editorial]. Development and Psychopathology 12, 255–264.Google Scholar
Cloninger, C. R., Svrakic, D. M., & Przybeck, T. R. (1993). A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General Psychiatry 50, 975–990.Google Scholar
de Charms, R. (1968). Personal causation: The internal affective determinants of behavior. New York: Academic Press.
Deci, E. L., Driver, R. E., Hotchkiss, L., Robbins, R. J., & Wilson, I. M. (1993). The relation of mothers' controlling vocalizations to children's intrinsic motivation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 55, 151–162.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 39–80). New York: Academic Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53, 1024–1037.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry 11, 227–268.Google Scholar
Depue, R. A., & Lenzenweger, M. F. (2001). A neurobehavioral dimensional model of personality disorders. In W. J. Livesley (Ed.), The handbook of personality disorders (pp. 136–176). New York: Guilford Press.
Dix, T. (1991). The affective organization of parenting: Adaptive and maladaptive processes. Psychological Bulletin 110, 3–25.Google Scholar
Eagle, M. (1998). Recent developments in psychoanalysis: A critical evaluation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Eurelings–Bontekoe, E., Verschuur, M., & Schreuder, B. (2003). Personality, temperament and attachment style among offspring of World War II victims: An integration of descriptive and structural features of personality. Traumatology 9, 106–122.Google Scholar
Fairbairn, W. R. D. (1952). An object-relations theory of the personality. New York: Basic Books.
Field, T. (1987). Interaction and attachment in normal and atypical infants. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55, 853–859.Google Scholar
Field, T., Healy, B., Goldstein, S., & Guthertz, M. (1990). Behavior-state matching and synchrony in mother–infant interactions of nondepressed versus depressed dyads. Developmental Psychology 26, 7–14.Google Scholar
Figueroa, E., & Silk, K. R. (1997). Biological implications of childhood sexual abuse in borderline personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders 11, 71–92.Google Scholar
Fonagy, P., & Target, M. (1997). Attachment and reflective function: Their role in self-organization. Development and Psychopathology 9, 679–700.Google Scholar
Freud, A. (1965). The writings of Anna Freud: Normality and pathology in childhood: Vol. VI. Assessments of Development. New York: International Universities Press.
Friedman, M. (2003). Autonomy, gender, and politics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gabbard, G. O. (2000). Psychodynamic psychiatry in clinical practice (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Gergely, G., & Watson, J. S. (1996). The social biofeedback theory of parental affect-mirroring: The development of emotional self-awareness and self-control in infancy. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 77, 1181–1212.Google Scholar
Goldman, S. J., D'Angelo, E. J., & DeMaso, D. R. (1993). Psychopathology in the families of children and adolescence with borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 150, 1832–1835.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, H. H., Buss, A. H., Plomin, R., Rothbart, M. K., Thomas, A., Chess, S., et al. (1987). Roundtable: What is temperament? Four approaches. Child Development 58, 505–529.Google Scholar
Greenough, W., & Black, J. (1992). Induction of brain structure by experience: Substrates for cognitive development. In M. Gunnar & C. A. Nelson (Eds.), Developmental behavioral neuroscience: The Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology (Vol. 24, pp. 155–200). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Greenspan, S. (1997). The growth of the mind and the endangered origins of intelligence. Reading, MA: Perseus Books.
Grolnick, W. S. (2003). The psychology of parental control: How well-meant parenting backfires. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Grolnick, W. S., Bridges, L., & Frodi, A. (1984). Maternal control style and the mastery motivation of one-year-olds. Infant Mental Health Journal 5, 72–82.Google Scholar
Grolnick, W. S., Kurowski, C. O., McMenamy, J. M., Rivkin, I., & Bridges, L. J. (1998). Mothers' strategies for regulating their toddlers' distress. Infant Behavior and Development 21, 437–450.Google Scholar
Grolnick, W. S., & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Parent styles associated with children's self-regulation and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology 81, 143–154.Google Scholar
Grusec, J. E., & Goodnow, J. J. (1994). Impact of parental discipline methods on the child's internalization of values: A reconceptualization of current points of view. Developmental Psychology 30, 4–19.Google Scholar
Hartmann, H. (1958). Ego psychology and the problem of adaptation. New York: International Universities Press.
Herman, J., Perry, J. C., & van der Kolk, B. A. (1989). Childhood trauma in borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 46, 490–495.Google Scholar
Jahoda, M. (1958). Current concepts of positive mental health. New York: Basic Books.
Kernberg, O. E (1967). Borderline personality organization. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association IS, 641–685.Google Scholar
Kernis, M. H. (2003). Toward a conceptualization of optimal self-esteem. Psychological Inquiry 14, 1–26.Google Scholar
Kochanska, G. (1997). Mutually responsive orientation between mothers and their young children: Implications for early socialization. Child Development 68, 94–112.Google Scholar
Kohut, H. (1977). The restoration of the self. New York: International Universities Press.
La Guardia, J. G., & Ryan, R. M. (2005). Variation in emotional experience and expression across close relationships and its impact on vitality and well being. Manuscript submitted for publication.
La Guardia, J. G., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79, 367–384.Google Scholar
Lenzenweger, M. F., Clarkin, J. F., Fertuck, E. A., & Kernberg, O. F. (2004). Executive neurocognitive functioning and neurobehavioral systems indicators in borderline personality disorder: A preliminary study. Journal of Personality Disorders 18, 421–438.Google Scholar
Lenzenweger, M. F., Loranger, A. W., Korfine, L., & Neff, C. (1997). Detecting personality disorders in a nonclinical population: Application of a two-stage procedure for identification. Archives of General Psychiatry 54, 345–351.Google Scholar
Linehan, M. (1987). Dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder: Theory and method. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 51, 261–276.Google Scholar
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive–behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
Loevinger, J. (1976). Ego development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Lynch, M. F., & Ryan, R. M. (2004, April). On being yourself: Consistency versus authenticity of self-concept in cultural and interpersonal contexts. Paper presented at the Third International Biennial SELF Research Conference, Berlin.
Markland, D., Ryan, R. M., Tobin, V., & Rollnick, S. (in press). Motivational interviewing and self-determination theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
Masterson, J. F. (1985). Treatment of the borderline adolescent: A developmental approach. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Meissner, W. W. (1988). Treatment of patients in the borderline spectrum. New York: Aronson.
Miller, A. (1981). The drama of the gifted child: The search for the true self (R. Ward, Trans.). New York: Basic Books.
Perry, B. D. (1997). Incubated in terror: Neurodevelopmental factors in the “cycle of violence.” In J. Osofsky (Ed.), Children, youth and violence: The search for solutions (pp. 1240–1248). New York: Guilford Press.
Perry, B. D, Pollard, R. A., Blakley, T. L., Baker, W. L., & Vigilante, D. (1996). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and “use-dependent” development of the brain: How “states” become “traits.” Infant Mental Health Journal 16, 271–291.Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1981). Intelligence and affectivity: Their relationship during child development. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
Posner, M. I., Rothbart, M. K., Vizueta, N., Levy, K. N., Evans, D. E., Thomas, K. M., et al. (2002). Attentional mechanisms of borderline personality disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99, 16366–16370.Google Scholar
Reeve, J. (2002). Self-determination theory applied to educational settings. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 183–203). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social psychology Bulletin 26, 419–435.Google Scholar
Repetti, R. L., Taylor, S. E., & Seeman, T. E. (2002). Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin 128, 330–366.Google Scholar
Rothbart, M. K., & Derryberry, D. (1981). Development of individual differences in temperament. In M. E. Lamb & A. L. Brown (Eds.), Advances in developmental psychology (Vol. I, pp. 37–86). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rutter, M. (2000). Psychosocial influences: Critiques, findings, and research needs. Development and Psychopathology 12, 375–405.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M. (1993). Agency and organization: Intrinsic motivation, autonomy and the self in psychological development. In J. Jacobs (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Developmental perspectives on motivation (Vol. 40, pp. 1–56). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality 63, 397–427.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57, 749–761.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55, 68–78.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2003). On assimilating identities to the self: A self-determination theory perspective on internalization and integrity within cultures. In M. R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 253–272). New York: Guilford Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2004). Autonomy is no illusion: Self-determination theory and the empirical study of authenticity, awareness, and will. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of experimental existential psychology (pp. 449–479). New York: Guilford Press.
Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., & Grolnick, W. S. (1995). Autonomy, relatedness, and the self: Their relation to development and psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti and D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Theory and methods (Vol. 1, pp. 618–655). New York: Wiley.
Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., Grolnick, W. S., & La Guardia, J. G. (in press). The significance of autonomy and autonomy support in psychological development and psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 1. Theory and methods (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Ryan, R. M., & Kuczkowski, R. (1994). The imaginary audience, self-consciousness, and public individuation in adolescence. Journal of Personality 62, 219–238.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., Kuhl, J., & Deci, E. L. (1997). Nature and autonomy: Organizational view of social and neurobiological aspects of self-regulation in behavior and development. Development and Psychopathology 9, 701–728.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & La Guardia, J. G. (2000). What is being optimized?: Self-determination theory and basic psychological needs. In S. H. Qualls & N. Abeles (Eds.), Psychology and the aging revolution (pp. 145–172). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ryan, R. M., La Guardia, J. G., Solky–Butzel, J., Chirkov, V., & Kim, Y. (2005). On the interpersonal regulation of emotions: Emotional reliance across gender, relationships and cultures. Personal Relationships 12, 145–163.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Lynch, J. H. (1989). Emotional autonomy versus detachment: Revisiting the vicissitudes of adolescence and young adulthood. Child Development 60, 340–356.Google Scholar
Segal, Z., Williams, M., & Teasdale, J. (2002). Mindfulness-based therapy for depression: A new approach to preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press.
Shapiro, D. (1981). Autonomy and rigid character. New York: Basic Books.
Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York: Guilford Press.
Slavin, M. O., & Kriegman, D. H. (1992). The adaptive design of the human psyche: Psychoanalysis, evolutionary biology, and the therapeutic process. New York: Guilford Press.
Sroufe, L. A. (1996). Emotional development: The organization of emotional life in the early years. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Stern, D. N. (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant. New York: Basic Books.
Strauss, J., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). Autonomy disturbances in subtypes of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 96, 254–258.Google Scholar
Stone, J. (1990). The fate of borderline patients. New York: Guilford Press.
Walton, M. E., Devlin, J. T., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2004). Interactions between decision making and performance monitoring within prefrontal cortex. Nature Neuroscience 7, 1259–1265.Google Scholar
Weiss, L. A., & Grolnick, W. S. (1991, April). The roles of parental involvement and support for autonomy in adolescent symptomatology. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Seattle, WA.
Werner, H. (1948). Comparative psychology of mental development. New York: International Universities Press.
Westen, D. (1991). Cognitive–behavioral interventions in the psychoanalytic psychotherapy of borderline personality disorders. Clinical Psychology Review 11, 211–230.Google Scholar
Westen, D., Lodolph, P., Misle, B., Ruffins, S., & Block, J. (1990). Physical and sexual abuse of adolescent girls with borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 60, 55–66.Google Scholar
Winnicott, D. W. (1965). Ego distortions in terms of true and false self. In The maturational process and the facilitating environment. New York: International Universities Press.
Yehuda, R. (1998). Psychological trauma. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Zanarini, M. C. (Ed.). (1997). Role of sexual abuse in the etiology of borderline personality disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Zanarini, M. C., & Frankenburg, F. R. (1997). Pathways to the development of borderline personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders 11, 93–104.Google Scholar
Zeldman, A., Ryan, R. M., & Fiscella, K. (2004). Motivation, autonomy support, and entity beliefs: Their role in methadone maintenance treatment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23, 675–696.Google Scholar