As possíveis relações entre o transtorno de déficit de atenção/hiperatividade e o transtorno de personalidade borderline e suas implicações clínicas

Abstract

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are considered distinct clinical conditions, but they often occur simultaneously in individuals. Furthermore, early manifestations of ADHD seem to be related to the later development of BPD. The objective of this study is to verify the state of the art of the possible relationship between ADHD and BPD. In particular, it is expected to: a) verify the explanations for the possible relationship between ADHD and BPD; and b) discuss the implications of the results found for clinical practice. To this end, an integrative literature review was conducted with searches in the PubMed, PsychInfo and Lilacs databases. Among the 24 studies in the sample, 15 articles were selected based on the results found in the databases and 9 articles/chapters were obtained through their references. The results obtained were grouped into two categories defined a priori, namely: explanatory components in the relationship between ADHD and BPD and clinical implications. The main hypotheses found for the intersection between the disorders were (1) vulnerability present in children with ADHD; and (2) the sharing of underlying psychopathological mechanisms such as emotion dysregulation (ED) and impulsivity. Concerning the implications for the management of the conditions, three directions were highlighted: (1) the development of protocols for managing the comorbidity ADHD + BPD; (2) early interventions to mitigate the development of BPD in children with ADHD and/or ED; and (3) development of transdiagnostic interventions. Field studies are needed to determine the etiology of BPD, as well as to develop interventions targeting vulnerability factors associated with its development and comorbidities.