Effect of Maternal Borderline Personality Disorder on Emotional Availability
in Mother-Child Interactions
Jenny Macfie1, Laura Coens, Katie Fitzpatrick, Miriam Frankel, Kristen McCollum, Rebecca Trupe,
& Christopher Watkins
Abstract
In this study we assessed emotional availability in mothers diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD)
and their preschool-aged children. BPD is a severe and chronic disorder characterized by poor emotion regulation,
suicidal/self-harming behavior, fear of abandonment, and difficulty with close relationships, and which may affect
the mother-child relationship. Emotional availability was operationalized to include maternal sensitivity,
structuring/intrusiveness, and hostility, and also child responsiveness and involvement of mother. Sixteen motherchild dyads were assessed for group differences between children with mothers who had BPD (N = 8) and
normative comparisons (N = 8). As hypothesized, we found that in mother-child interactions, mothers with BPD
were significantly less sensitive, more hostile, and marginally more intrusive with their children, compared with
comparison mothers. Additionally, we found that children of mothers with BPD were significantly less responsive
to their mothers and less involving of their mothers than were comparison children.
Introduction
Emotional Availability:
 Emotional availability is a relational construct involving emotional expression and responsiveness during
dyadic interactions, and emphasizes the bidirectional quality of emotional dialogue between partners in a
relationship. Within the relationship between a parent and child, it reflects emotional openness,
communication, warmth, and mutual understanding. Emotional availability is characterized by emotional
“attunement,” and refers not only to the parent’s emotional signals, but also to the emotional signals sent by
the child, and the parent’s ability to interpret and understand the child’s emotional experience. (Biringen,
2000; Biringen & Robinson, 1991; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).
 An emotionally available mother uses a sensitive, structuring, nonintrusive, and nonhostile style of
caregiving that facilitates the child’s ability to successfully regulate emotion and behavior. This in turn
enables the child to reciprocate in a responsive and involving manner towards the mother (Biringen, 2000;
Biringen & Robinson, 1991; Easterbrooks & Biringen, 2000).
Developmental Psychopathology Perspective:
 From a developmental psychopathology perspective, studying groups at high risk of developing a disorder,
such as offspring of women with the disorder, may uncover pathways to disorder versus resilience and thus
help inform preventive interventions (Cicchetti, 1984; Sroufe & Rutter, 1984).
 Recent research suggests that the offspring of women with BPD may be exposed to a combination of risk
factors, which may place them at risk for emotional, behavioral, and somatic problems. Children of mothers
with BPD ages 11-18, were more likely than comparisons to have nervous, inhibited, and shy
temperaments, demonstrate higher scores on scales of harm avoidance, perceive their mothers as being
overly protective, and show a higher prevalence of psychopathology, including severe affective instability,
low self-esteem, attention/disruptive behavior problems, and suicidal thoughts (Barnow et al., 2006).
 The current study was designed to assess potential precursors to BPD in young children at high risk of
developing the disorder in early adulthood—offspring of women with BPD. The study focused on
emotional availability in the mother-child relationship.
Emotional Availability and Borderline Personality Disorder:
 In normative samples, poor emotional availability in mother-infant dyads has been empirically associated
with difficulties in emotion regulation, problems with attachment, and decreased sociability among peers
(Biringen et al., 2005; Easterbrooks, Biesecker, & Lyons-Ruth, 2000; Little & Carter, 2005).
 Problems with emotional dysregulation in close relationships evident in individuals with BPD suggests the
possibility of deficits in dyadic mother-child emotional availability when these individuals were themselves
children. In turn, mothers with BPD may not be emotionally available to their own children making future
2


problems with emotion regulation in close relationships more likely(Barnow, Spitzer, Grabe, Kessler, &
Freyberger, 2006; Easterbrooks et al., 2000; Little & Carter, 2005; Zanarini et al., 1997).
Two studies have examined aspects of emotional availability in the infant offspring of women with BPD.
In prior research, mothers with BPD have been found to be more insensitive and intrusive with their 2month-old (Crandell, Patrick, & Hobson, 2003) and 12-month-old (Hobson, Patrick, Crandell, GarciaPerez, & Lee, 2005) infants.
However, no research has been conducted to assess emotional availability in mothers who have BPD and
their children in the preschool period, which is when emotional self regulation is the developmental stagesalient issue. The current study was designed to fill this gap by assessing emotional availability in motherchild dyads in children age 4-6.
Hypotheses:
In the current study we hypothesized, that compared with normative comparisons:
 Mothers with BPD would be less sensitive, more intrusive, and more hostile with their children.
 Children of mothers with BPD would be less responsive to and involving of their mothers.
Method
Participants:
 N = 16 children, average age, n = 8 whose mothers had BPD and n = 8 whose mothers did not, were
sampled
 Groups were matched on socioeconomic status (low), age and race. See Table 1
 Mothers with BPD were referred by therapists in outpatient clinics
 Mothers without BPD recruited from Boys & Girls Clubs and community postering
Table 1. Sample characteristics
Variable
Whole Sample
N=16
M (SD)
Child age in years
5.32 (.70)
Household yearly income
34,829 (28,000)
Maternal BPD
n=8
M (SD)
5.42(0.60)
33,200(28,451)
Comparisons
N=8
M (SD)
5.19(0.84)
36,900 (30,040)
t
-0.66
0.26
χ2
%
Mother completed high
88
school
Mother single
31
Child gender (girls)
50
Child minority
0
Note. No group differences were significant.
%
78
%
100
9.03
33
56
0
29
43
0
0.04
0.25
------
Procedures and Measures
BPD diagnosis:
 A structured interview, SCID-II (First, Gibbon, Spitzer, Williams & Benjamin, 1997) was used to
assess BPD status for both groups.
Mother-child interactions:
 All interactions were videotaped for later coding.
 Storytelling (10 minutes): Experimenter handed mothers a picture book without words, and mothers were
instructed to “Please read this book to your child for the next 10 minutes. It does not have any words, so
read the story in a way that makes sense to you.”
 Puzzle-solving task (10 minutes): Experimenter placed increasingly challenging puzzles in front of the
child. Mothers were told for each one, “This puzzle is for your child to complete, but feel free to give any
help you think your child might need.”
Emotional availability coding
 Curvilinear scales were recoded as per Little & Carter (2005)
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Table 2. Overview of Emotional Availability Scales
Maternal Dimensions
Sensitivity, range 1-9
Refers to the mother’s awareness of and responsiveness to the child, affective quality of interactions, quality of conflict
negotiations, and creativity during play
9: Optimally Sensitive
1: Highly Insensitive
 Positive, appropriate emotional communication;
 Extreme insensitivity to child’s communications
interest and pleasure
 Active/harsh style: overbearing, harsh interaction style;
 Reads subtle signals and responds appropriately
facial expressions of disgust and anger; abrasive tone
of voice
 Effective resolution of conflict and distress; smooth
transitions
 Passive/depressed style: Noninteractive and silent;
disinterested
 Flexible and adaptive behavior; good sense of timing
Structuring/Intrusiveness, range 1-5
Refers to the mother’s ability to structure or scaffold the interaction in ways that will engage the child, encourage
learning, and set appropriate limits, without intruding on the child’s autonomy in an overprotective or overcontrolling
manner
5: Optimal structuring / Intrusiveness
1: Non-optimal structuring, and/or Intrusiveness
 Follows child’s lead; bids at interaction successful
 No limit setting; no structure provided for child;
passive, indulgent
 Actively involved but not overpowering; avoids
interrupting
 Highly overstimulating; controls interaction; frequent
interruptions
 Appropriate limit setting; uses preventive measures
when possible
 Lack of respect for child’s wishes, abilities; may be
overprotective
Hostility, range 1-5
Refers to abrasive, impatient or antagonistic ways in which the mother talks to or behaves with the child, both overtly
and covertly
1: Nonhostile
5: Markedly and Overtly Hostile
 No expressions of overt or covert hostility
 Overtly harsh, abrasive and demeaning
 General emotional climate is nonhostile
 Threatening or frightening behavior, threats of
separation or abuse
Child Dimensions
Responsiveness to Mother, range 1-7
Involves the child’s ability to explore on his/her own as well as respond to the mother in an affectively positive way. This
is reflected in the child’s interest, eagerness, and pleasure following a maternal bid for interaction.
7: Highly responsive
1: Unresponsive
 Eager, willing to engage with mother following bid
 Ignores bids for interaction; unresponsive or avoidant
for exchange
 Affectively negative (whining, insulting, crying,
 Responds often to mother’s bids, but without urgency
fearful) to mother
or necessity
 Nonoptimal over-responsive subtype may also be
 May occasionally ignore mother’s bid, as when
present
engrossed in play
Involvement of Mother, range 1-7
Refers to the child’s ability to attend to and engage the mother in interactions and invite the mother into play.
7: Highly involving
1: Nonoptimal in involving behaviors
 Balance between autonomous play, drawing mother
 Avoidant: signals not needing to play or interact with
to interact
mother; makes no attempt to elaborate mother initiated
exchanges
 Varied ways of involving mother are integrated into
flow of play
 Overinvolving: constant contact; refuses to play
without mother
 Eager to involve mother in a comfortable, positive,
non-urgent manner
Note. All dimensions of emotional availability were coded with Biringen, Robinson, & Emde (1993). Structuring/Intrusiveness,
Responsivity, and Involvement were then recoded as per Little & Carter (2005). The recoded ranges are noted above. For each
dimension all midpoints were also utilized.
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Results:
Test of Hypotheses:
 Mothers with BPD were less sensitive , t(14) = 5.14, p < .0001, marginally more intrusive, t(14) = 2.08, p
= .056, and more hostile with their children than were comparisons t(14) = -2.58, p = .036.
 Children of mothers with BPD were less responsive tot, t(14) = 3.11, p = .008, and less involving of, their
mothers, t(14) = 2.43, p = .029, than were comparisons.
Table 3. Emotional Availability Differences Between Maternal BPD-Child Dyads and Control
Emotional
BPD
Control
Availability
Mean(SD)
Range
Mean(SD)
Range
t
Mother
Sensitivity
4.50(1.51)
2-7
8.00(1.20)
6-9
5.14***
Structuring/
2.75(1.28)
1-5
4.12(1.36)
2-5
2.08†
a
Intrusiveness
Hostility
2.31(1.44)
1-4
1.00(0.00)
1-1
2.58*
Child
Responsivitya
3.38(2.00)
1-6
6.00(1.31)
3-7
3.11**
Involvementa
3.50(1.85)
1-6
5.50(1.41)
3-7
2.43*
†
Note. p < .01; *p < .05; **p <.01, ***p<.001; N = 16. All t-tests were two-tailed tests of significance.
a. Values reflect recoded scores, as per Little & Carter (2005)
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5.0
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Comparison
Discussion
5
Developmental pathways to BPD:
 As hypothesized, mothers with BPD were significantly less sensitive, more hostile, and marginally more
intrusive in their interactions with their children when compared with comparison mothers.
 Also as hypothesized, children of women with BPD were significantly less involving of and less
responsive to their mothers in their interactions when compared with comparison children.
 These findings suggest that women with BPD are less emotionally available in their interactions with their
children as seen in their tendency to be more hostile and less sensitive toward their children. In turn, their
children tend to be less emotionally available as seen in their tendency to be less responsive and less
involving in the dyadic interactions.
Conclusion:
 When the quality of emotional availability in the mother-infant dyad is poor, the child is likely to have
affect regulation and attachment problems as well as difficulty in the area of socialization (Biringen et al.,
2005). These problems are also common symptoms of BPD so may be viewed in children as precursors to
the development of the disorder.
 Interventions to prevent the intergenerational transmission of BPD might include helping the mother with
BPD learn how to increase her emotional availability to her child at the level of mother-child attachment,
for example, in child-mother psychotherapy.
 From a developmental psychopathology perspective, the development of compromised emotional
availability in mothers who have BPD and their children may inform normative development.
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*
This research was supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to Dr. Jenny Macfie [5R03MH07784101].
†
This poster was presented at the Society for Research in Child Development biannual conference in April 2007. If you would
like additional information, please contact Jenny Macfie at macfie@utk.edu or visit our website at http://web.utk.edu/~macfie