Childhood Trauma and Emotional Dysregulation as Predictors of Borderline Personality Symptoms among Female University Students

Borderline personality symptoms are strongly linked to adverse childhood experiences and difficulties in regulating emotions. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between childhood trauma, emotional dysregulation, and borderline personality symptoms among female undergraduate students in Pakistan. A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. The sample comprised 200 female students aged 18–25 years, selected from universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi through purposive sampling. Standardized measures included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ). IBM SPSS-26 was used to perform Pearson correlation and Regression analysis. The findings showed strong positive correlations between childhood trauma, emotional dysregulation and borderline personality symptoms, with emotional dysregulation as the most powerful predictor. A combination of childhood trauma and emotional dysregulation accounted for 43.4 percent of the variance in borderline personality symptoms. These results underscore the importance of culturally competent, trauma-informed practice in the university environment and emphasize the inclusion of emotion regulation training in young people.