You may have heard that child abuse is one of the causes of BPD. Is this true? There is no simple answer; we don't yet know exactly what causes BPD.

Research has fairly conclusively demonstrated a relationship between BPD and child maltreatment. However, there have been no studies that have been able to demonstrate conclusively that child maltreatment causes BPD. Rather, the research shows that BPD and child maltreatment tend to be associated with one another. For now, we know that while child abuse is related to BPD, it is neither a necessary or sufficient cause. Many people who have experienced child abuse do not have BPD, and many people with BPD were not abused or maltreated as children.