Exploring personality organizations and personality disorder tendencies in the context of percei̇ved parenting attitudes, cognitive flexibility and traumas

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship of perceived parental attitudes, cognitive flexibility and traumas with Antisocial, Narsisistic, Histrionic personality disorder tendencies and psychodynamic personality organizations. 760 adults, 464 women and 296 men, participated in the study. The data were collected from the participants via Personal Information Form, Abbreviated Perceived Parental Attitudes Scale - Child Form, Child Raising Styles Scale, Personality Organizations Inventory, Coolidge Axis II Inventory - Plus Turkish Short Form, Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, Cumulative Traumas Scale Short Form. Research findings were examined by Correlation, Multiple Linear Regression, Hierarchical Regression, and Independent Sample t-Test analyses. The results of the analysis showed that neurotic personality organization was positively associated with positive maternal and paternal attitudes and cognitive flexibility whereas borderline personality organization was positively associated with negative maternal and paternal attitudes and traumas. Furhetmore, the results revealed that Antisocial PD tendency was negatively associated with positive maternal and paternal attitudes and cognitive flexibility but was positively associated with negative maternal (overprotection, rejection) and paternal (rejection) attitudes and traumas; Narcissistic PD tendency was positively associated with negative maternal (overprotection) and parental (overprotection and rejection) attitudes, cognitive flexibility and traumas and Histrionic PD tendency was positively associated with negative maternal and parental attitudes (overprotection and rejection) and traumas. The most outstanding finding of the regression analyses was that the overprotection parental attitudes continued to be a positive predictor of borderline personality organization, Antisocial and Narsisistic PD tendencies even when the maternal attitudes, traumas and conginitive flexibility were controlled. The results obtained were discussed in line with the findings of the literature and suggestions were made for possible future studies.