# Neurodevelopment: attachment, social function and borderline personality

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $160,563

## Abstract

Social problems and disrupted relationships with close, attachment figures are difficulties that are risk factors
and/or symptoms of many mental health disorders. Theorists and researchers are increasingly coming to
common conclusions: humans are social creatures and when social relationships are disturbed, problems with
emotion and self-control arise. Examining disturbance in social functioning and attachment relationships in
adolescence, using the brain and behavior as markers of the nature of the disturbance, could facilitate better
understanding of how social factors prompt mental health difficulties. Adolescence is particularly important
developmental period because brain systems supporting social and emotional processing are rapidly
developing at this time. There is, specifically, an urgent need to better understand these difficulties among
adolescents with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a severe mental health disorder, characterized by a
mix of problems in social and emotional domains. BPD is major public health issue, given its association with
extreme misery and debilitation. And yet, the disorder is understudied, particularly within adolescents. The
major aims of this project are to (1) examine the relationship between caregiver-attachment relationships and
brain and behavioral signs of social functioning and affiliation with peers, (2) determine whether neural and
behavioral signs of social dysfunction predict BPD symptoms, and (3) discern whether social functioning and
affiliation with peers mediates the relationship between attachment and BPD. Attachment will be measured
with an innovative approach to coding caregiver-adolescent conflict interactions. Social functioning will be
assessed at 9-months using an fMRI-based Trust Task, which provides indices of trust and collaboration.
Connectivity in brain networks, particularly the attachment/affiliation network, during instances of high trust and
collaboration within this task will be examined in association with attachment disturbance and BPD symptoms
at baseline and over 18-months. Dr. Beeney, the award candidate, is a clinical psychology PhD, seeking to
transition to an independent research program focused on social and developmental neuroscience of
interpersonal and emotional disturbance and BPD. The above project represents a first step towards this goal.
Within the training period, he seeks to train in (1) developmental psychopathology, particularly in relation to
adolescent brain development, (2) to learn to analyze the brain as a system of neural networks rather than
discreet regions, and (3) learn a life span approach to attachment and train in adolescent development. Drs.
Stephanie Stepp and Erika Forbes, both Associate Professors at University of Pittsburgh, will mentor Dr.
Beeney. Dr. Stepp is an expert in adolescent development of BPD and Dr. Forbes is an expert in
developmental neuroscience of affective disorders. University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9982431
- **Project number:** 5K01MH109859-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Edward Beeney
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $160,563
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-13 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9982431

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9982431, Neurodevelopment: attachment, social function and borderline personality (5K01MH109859-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9982431. Licensed CC0.

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