NCJ Number
246334
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2013 Pages: 644-655
Date Published
2013
Length
12 pages
Annotation
To systematically review the literature on the link between personality disorder and parenting capacity from an attachment theory perspective.
Abstract
To systematically review the literature on the link between personality disorder and parenting capacity from an attachment theory perspective. Four electronic databases were searched systematically. Those studies that met the pre-defined inclusion criteria were quality assessed. Data was then extracted and synthesized from the included studies using a qualitative approach. Fifteen thousand and sixty one hits were found. A further 22 studies were identified through expert contact, and two from references lists. Two thousand eight hundred and eighty five duplicates were removed and a further 11,926 irrelevant studies were excluded. Of the remaining 250 articles, 229 did not meet the inclusion criteria and were therefore removed and two articles were unobtainable. A further 19 studies were removed following quality assessment, leaving a total of 11 studies to be reviewed. The majority of the findings supported the association between a diagnosis of personality disorder, poor parent-child interactions and problematic parenting practices. Parental personality disorder was identified as a risk factor for impaired parenting behaviors and disturbed parent-infant. More rigorous research is required in relation to how co-morbidity and personality disorder alone influence the broad dimensions of parenting capacity for both mothers and fathers.