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Although associations among borderline personality disorder (BPD), social rejection, and frontal EEG alpha asymmetry scores (FAA, a neural correlate of emotion regulation and approach-withdrawal motivations) have been explored in different studies, relatively little work has examined these relations during adolescence in the same study. We examined whether FAA moderated the relation between BPD features and rejection sensitivity following a validated social exclusion paradigm, Cyberball. A mixed, clinical-community sample of 64 adolescents (females = 62.5%; Mage = 14.45 years; SD = 1.6; range = 11-17 years) completed psychodiagnostic interviews and a self-report measure of BPD (Time 1). Approximately two weeks later (Time 2), participants completed a resting EEG recording followed by Cyberball. FAA moderated the relation between BPD features and overall feelings of rejection following Cyberball: individuals with greater relative left FAA had the highest and lowest feelings of social rejection depending on whether they had high and low BPD feature scores, respectively. Results remained after controlling for age, sex, gender, depression, and BPD diagnosis. These results suggest that FAA may moderate the relation between BPD features and social rejection, and that left frontal brain activity at rest may be differentially associated with those feelings in BPD. Findings are discussed in terms of the link between left frontal brain activity in the regulation and dysregulation of social approach behaviors, characteristic of BPD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with significant difficulties in the executive control of behaviour and emotions. Risk for depression in ADHD youth is a logical concern. This narrative review examines what is known regarding sources of risk for depression in youth with ADHD in the areas of epidemiology, genetics, neuroanatomy, neuropsychological functioning, social functioning, maltreatment and the effects of psychopharmacologic treatments. Emphasis is placed on longitudinal studies across childhood to maximize relevance to the research question. Findings suggest that comorbidity between ADHD and depression is less than chance would predict in community studies, and shared risk for oppositional defiant disorder accounts for the association that is seen in clinical studies. ADHD and depression share few if any similarities in brain morphology and function. The risk of maltreatment, difficulties in parenting ADHD children and social functioning deficits likely account for substantial risk for depression and should be targets for interventions.

Background Borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescent samples is similar to BPD in adults concerning clinical characteristics. A notable difference is that adolescents with BPD – and adolescents in general – are more likely than adults to present with acute symptoms such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behaviours. BPD is the only disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual- 5th Edition that includes a criterion of NSSI. Additionally, NSSI is purported to be a developmental precursor of BPD under the biosocial developmental model. Though much cross-sectional data have illustrated the robust association of adolescent NSSI and BPD, no review to date has summarized the longitudinal associations between these phenomena. The aim of this literature review was to summarize what is known about the longitudinal associations between adolescent NSSI and BPD symptoms. Information on the developmental course of NSSI in relation to BPD would be helpful to clinicians, as the rate of NSSI is high in adolescent populations, and research indicates early, possibly BPD-specific interventions are imperative. Methods A literature search was conducted using Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases and cited reference searches. Criteria included studies of adolescents (age ≤ 18 at baseline) from either epidemiological or clinical samples, incorporating a longitudinal design, with predictors and outcomes of interest, including both NSSI and BPD diagnosis/symptoms/traits. Results Six independent samples were identified that matched our search criteria. The articles were grouped and reported on separately by population type (epidemiological vs. clinical), and directionality of relations. We identified two epidemiological and four clinical samples. Five samples examined the longitudinal associations of NSSI preceding BPD, three samples measured BPD in adolescence (baseline age ≤ 18), and two of those samples measured BPD at baseline. Both epidemiological studies revealed significant longitudinal associations between NSSI and later BPD/BPD symptoms; however, they differed notably in their methodologies hindering data synthesis across studies. In the clinical studies, findings of the association or predictive relations were not consistent. This is potentially due to differing methodologies, or differences in treatment effectiveness and responsiveness across the samples. Conclusions This review highlights the paucity of data that are available examining the longitudinal association between NSSI and BPD within adolescent samples. Thus, it is not possible to reliably comment on how NSSI and BPD are related over time. Future studies will benefit from the measurement of BPD symptoms in very early adolescence, and concurrent measurement of NSSI as well as other forms of suicidal behaviours across adolescence.