Childhood Emotional Trauma and Borderline Personality Traits: The Mediating Roles of Rejection Sensitivity and Self-Criticism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Childhood emotional trauma (CET) is a well-established etiological factor for borderline personality traits (BPT), yet the mediating mechanisms remain inadequately specified. This study examined the mediating roles of rejection sensitivity and self-criticism in the association between childhood emotional trauma and BPT. In this cross-sectional study, 259 participants (Mage = 22.73, SD = 4.43; 66.8% female) were recruited from Shabestar Azad University, Iran via a convenience sampling method. Assessments were conducted using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), Levels of Self-Criticism Scale (SC), and Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples was used to test direct/indirect effects. Findings revealed that childhood emotional trauma was positively associated with BPT (r = 0.343, p < .01), RS (r = 0.283, p < .01), and self-criticism (r = 0.406, p < .01). Path analysis revealed significant direct effects of trauma on BPT (β = 0.343, p < .001). Crucially, both RS (β = 0.112, p < .001, 95% CI [0.096, 0.122]) and self-criticism (β = 0.127, p < .001, 95% CI [0.113, 0.137]) mediated the relationship between childhood emotional trauma and BPT. Rejection sensitivity and self-criticism mediate the link between childhood emotional trauma and BPT. Clinical interventions targeting these dual pathways – interpersonal hypersensitivity (RS) and intrapersonal vulnerability (self-criticism) – may mitigate BPT development in trauma survivors.