Psychobiological Correlates of Aggression in Female Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Introduction: Aggressive behavior in reaction to threats, frustration, or provocation is prevalent in borderline personality disorder (BPD). This study investigated aggressive behavior and its biological correlates in adolescents with BPD. Methods: Twenty-one female adolescents with a DSM-IV BPD diagnosis and 25 sex- and age-matched healthy controls participated in the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), a laboratory-based experiment measuring aggressive behavior in the interpersonal context. Heart rate was measured and saliva samples were taken throughout the experiment. Results: Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses revealed no significant group difference in aggressive behavior induced by the TAP. Additionally, the two groups did not differ in cortisol, testosterone, and heart rate responses to the aggression induction. The BPD group showed a significant cortisol increase in the time preceding the start of the TAP in contrast to the healthy control group, in whom a significant heart rate increase from baseline to the first block of the TAP was observed. Discussion: There was no evidence, either at the phenomenological or the biological level, of increased task-induced aggression in adolescents with BPD. The results may indicate that adolescents with BPD experienced fearful stress in anticipation of the experimental task in contrast to healthy controls who showed an adaptive response of the autonomic nervous system necessary to deal with the upcoming demand.