Borderline personality disorder and parenting research

Are you over the age of 18 years old and have ever been provided with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

Do you have a child aged between 4 and 17 years of age?

If you answered ‘yes’ to both of these questions, you are invited to participate in a voluntary and anonymous questionnaire exploring the relationship between symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD), parenting behaviours and attitudes. The purpose of this research is to explore whether symptoms of BPD may impact on parenting attitudes and behaviours, and to identify protective factors that determine healthy family functioning in these families. We are inviting participation from both mums and dads who have had a past or present diagnosis of BPD.

This research is being conducted as there has been a notable gap in services when it comes to linking parents with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder with appropriate parenting supports that are sensitive to their needs.

If you decide to participate in this research, you will be asked to answer some questions about your mental health, parenting attitudes and behaviours, and to comment on behaviours for each child aged between 4 and 17 years of age. You will not be asked to include any specific identifying information about yourself or your children. The length of the questionnaire may vary depending on the size of your family but we recommend putting at least an hour aside to complete it.

Participation in the research is voluntary. You can access the questionnaire online by typing the following address into your browser:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/56RRH5G

If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the researcher on the details below and you can be sent a hardcopy of the questionnaire to complete and return in a prepaid self-addressed envelope.

Those who participate in the research will go in the draw to win one of five Amazon.com vouchers valued at $50AU (a suitable alternative may be arranged for those who don’t have internet access). For more details about this study, please refer to the information sheet attached to this letter or contact the researcher for more details.

This study has the approval of the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Adelaide (Ethics Approval Number: H-2012-153).

You may also contact myself or my supervisor, Dr Rachel Roberts on the phone (+61 08 8313 5338) or via email rachel.roberts@adelaide.sa.gov.au for further information if required.

Kind Regards,

Dianna Bartsch, M. Psych (Clinical), MAPS
PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide
Email: dianna.bartsch@adelaide.edu.au