Personality pathology grows up: adolescence as a sensitive period.

There is mounting evidence that personality pathology, in particular, borderline pathology is a valid and reliable construct in adolescence, with prevalence, phenomenology, stability and risk factors similar to that of adult borderline personality disorder. Scientific evidence also delineates a marked separation of course and outcome of adolescent borderline personality disorder from other disorders and supports the efficacy of disorder-specific treatment. The current article addresses recent findings in these areas which point to adolescence as a sensitive period for the development for personality pathology. A conceptual model of psychopathology is presented wherein personality pathology is described as a qualitatively different level of psychopathology in the form of maladaptive self-other relatedness that is developmentally tied to identity formation in adolescence.