Affective Instability and Features of Borderline Personality in Adolescent Girls

该研究职业发展奖（K01）的目标是提供一个为期五年的职业发展和研究培训计划，使候选人能够对情感不稳定（AI）在女孩儿童和青春期边缘型人格障碍（BPD）发展中的作用进行研究。BPD是一种复杂的、使人衰弱的疾病，与频繁的自杀行为、强烈的和慢性的痛苦以及高的治疗利用率相关。BPD通常在年轻时首次诊断，并且在女性中诊断不成比例。BPD有四个关键特征：AI，人际功能障碍，行为控制不足和身份障碍。主要理论认为，AI在BPD的发展中起着主要作用，父母对影响的反应在缓冲或赋予AI水平高的女孩的风险方面尤为重要。然而，很少有纵向的研究已经进行了BPD的发病机制的发展过程。为了满足这一需求，培训和研究计划将行为和心理生理学方法纳入纵向框架，以调查AI在青春期女孩BPD其他特征发展中的作用。候选人将在与青春期女孩有关的发展研究方法，使用生态瞬时评估（EMA）评估自然环境中的影响以及在Paul Pilkonis博士，共同导师Greg Siegle和顾问专家团队的指导下进行情感的心理生理学培训，包括博士Rolf Loeber和罗纳德Dahl。拟议的研究将利用EMA，心理生理学（瞳孔测量）和问卷调查措施来检查AI与青春期女孩BPD其他特征之间的关联。此外，父母的反应，影响BPD的功能将进行检查。提出的研究目标将在一项对女孩情绪和行为健康进行纵向调查的前瞻性子研究（匹兹堡女孩研究：PGS）中实现。该项目将从PGS招募110名16岁的女孩，对AI严重程度的全方位进行采样。这些培训和研究活动将使候选人能够对BPD病因学中的社会和生物因素进行转化研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this Research Career Development Award (K01) is to provide a five-year career development and research training program that will enable the candidate to conduct research on the role of affective instability (AI) in the development of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) during childhood and adolescence in girls. BPD is a complex and debilitating disorder associated with frequent suicidal behavior, intense and chronic misery, and high rates of treatment utilization. BPD is usually first diagnosed in young adulthood and is disproportionately diagnosed in women. There are four key features of BPD: AI, interpersonal dysfunction, behavioral undercontrol, and identity disturbance. Major theories suggest that AI plays a primary role in the development of BPD and that parental response to affect is especially important in buffering or conferring risk for those girls with high levels of AI. However, little longitudinal research has been conducted on etiological mechanisms underlying the developmental course of BPD. To address this need, the training and research plan incorporates both behavioral and psychophysiological approaches in a longitudinal framework to investigate the role of AI in the development of other features of BPD in adolescent girls. The candidate will pursue training in developmental research methodology pertinent to adolescent girls, assessment of affect in the natural environment using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and the psychophysiology of emotion under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Pilkonis, co-mentor Greg Siegle, and an expert team of consultants, including Drs. Rolf Loeber and Ronald Dahl. The proposed research will utilize EMA, psychophysiological (pupillometry), and questionnaire measures to examine associations between AI and other features of BPD in adolescent girls over time. Additionally, the impact of parental response to affect on features of BPD will be examined. The proposed research goals will be achieved in a prospective substudy of a longitudinal investigation of girls' emotional and behavioral health (Pittsburgh Girls Study: PGS). This project will recruit 110 16 year-old girls from the PGS, sampling the full range of AI severity. These training and research activities will place the candidate in a position to conduct translational research on social and biological factors in the etiology of BPD.