Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment Vol. 9, Iss. 4,  (Jul 2018): 385-389. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe and chronic mental illness. Self-reported borderline features correlate highly with a diagnosis (affective instability, negative relationships, unstable sense of self, self-harm). Etiological factors of BPD include childhood maltreatment. The current study compared the experience of maltreatment in adolescent offspring of mothers with BPD, who are themselves at risk of developing the disorder, with that of offspring of mothers with no current diagnosis.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.