Stimulating research on childhood adversities, borderline personality disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder

Traumatic events of a long-lasting invasive, primarily interpersonal nature (e.g., childhood abuse, intimate partner violence) can have wide-ranging consequences across various life domains. This involves an increased risk of developing mental disorders, such as (complex) post-traumatic stress (PTSD, CPTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Both within and outside of these diagnostic boundaries, complex trauma has been associated with emotional dysregulation, dissociation, distrust, interpersonal problems, and maladaptive coping behaviours, such as self-harm and suicidal behaviour. Knowledge on the devastating consequences of complex trauma has steadily increased. One of the remaining research questions is why some people develop certain psychopathological symptoms or disorders after complex trauma while others do not. Moreover, more research is needed to better understand how disorders such as BPD and CPTSD can be differentiated, both descriptively and empirically. This special issue brings together a collection of review articles and original research articles on this topic to stimulate further research in the field. Findings enhance the understanding of long-term consequences of childhood adversities and highlight important psychopathological mechanisms that may underlie an increased risk to develop certain mental disorders.