A study on parental attitudes in patients with personality disorders and healthy controls from a tertiary care hospital in Northern India

Abstract

Background: Personality disorders (PDs) comprise deeply ingrained and enduring behavioral patterns, manifesting themselves as inflexible responses to a broad range of personal and social situations. Our aim was to study sociodemographic profile and parental attitudes in patients with PDs and their comparison with healthy controls. Materials and Methods: It was an observational case–control study conducted in Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Srinagar, J and K, India. A total of 41 cases and 163 controls were selected. Patients were diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) criteria. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was used for parental attitudes. Results: The mean age of patients and controls was 22.41 (standard deviation [SD] = 4.14) and 22.52 (SD = 4.15), respectively. Majority of the participants were females, single, were from nuclear families, and belonged to upper-middle socioeconomic class. Most of the patients were borderline PD (BPD), followed by histrionic PD. The frequency and inappropriateness of punishment by parents was more in patients than controls. Conclusion: A positive correlation was seen between PDs and inappropriate parental attitudes and rearing styles. Therefore, it is required to have a better understanding of PDs and to help parents to develop skills to handle their children with utmost care in distress.

Keywords

• inappropriate parenting
• parental attitudes
• personality disorders
• rearing styles