Low Oxytocin in Borderline Personality Disorder: What Does It Indicate?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder. Individuals with BPD experience difficulties in social cognition and often have insecure attachment styles that disturb interpersonal relationships. The fear of compassion (FOC) from others is highly associated with insecure attachment. Oxytocin facilitates feelings of love and compassion and plays an important role in the development of affiliative motivation and social behavior. BPD is associated with lower oxytocin levels, but the role this hormone plays in these patients' social cognition is not well-understood. These researchers measured plasma oxytocin levels and, on a validated self-report scale, FOC for self, for others, and from others in 57 female inpat…