Unpredictable Childhood Environments Linked to Borderline Personality Traits in Adulthood

Across three independent samples, adults who recalled their childhoods as unstable and unpredictable reported higher levels of all four examined borderline personality traits: neurotic (emotional volatility), antagonistic (hostility and interpersonal conflict), disinhibited (impulsivity and poor behavioral control), and dissociative (identity confusion and unreality). The association held for a U.S. community sample, a U.S. undergraduate sample, and an Israeli community sample, indicating the pattern was not confined to a single age group, recruitment method, or national context.

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The research, published in *Evolutionary Psychological Science* and titled “Recollections of Childhood Socioecological Conditions and Borderline Personality Traits: The Roles of Perceived Harshness and Unpredictability,” was conducted by Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Jennifer Vonk, Meghan Martini, Renee LeBlanc, Carly King, and Avi Besser. Three studies comprised a total of 4,993 participants: Study 1 included 529 U.S. adults recruited via Prolific; Study 2 involved 2,478 undergraduate students from a large Midwestern U.S. university; Study 3 surveyed 1,986 Israeli adults recruited through public advertisements and social media. Participants completed the Perceived Childhood Harshness and Unpredictability Scale and measures of the four borderline trait dimensions using the Five-Factor Borderline Inventory (short and super-short forms).

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Perceived childhood unpredictability showed a consistent positive relationship with each borderline trait, whereas perceived harshness displayed a weaker and often nonsignificant link once unpredictability was accounted for. Gender differences were mixed: the link between unpredictability and antagonistic traits was stronger among men in the U.S. samples but not in Israel, and a stronger association with disinhibited traits among men appeared only in the student sample. The authors note that the studies are correlational and rely on retrospective self-reports, preventing causal inference; current personality or mood may bias recollections. Additional constraints include exclusive use of self-report instruments, nonclinical samples, and recruitment limited to the United States and Israel, which restricts generalizability to clinically diagnosed populations and other cultural settings.

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The findings suggest that the stability and predictability of early environments may be more salient than the severity of material hardship in shaping borderline-related personality traits. Highlighting predictability as a developmental factor could inform future research on early-life interventions aimed at reducing long-term emotional and behavioral dysregulation.

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