Does where people live contribute to the development of personality disorder?

We know that the neighbourhood people live or grow up in can affect their mental health. However, we don’t know if where someone lives is linked to their risk of developing the difficulties associated with a diagnosis of personality disorder.  

People diagnosed with personality disorder experience differences in the way they think and feel. This can lead to difficulties in their relationships, work, and daily life. People can experience intense emotions, which might lead to problems like self-harm and suicidal thoughts.  

We know the diagnosis of personality disorder is highly stigmatised and misunderstood. That is why it is particularly important for us to understand more about the factors that contribute to the development of this condition. 

Currently, we know relatively little about how and why personality disorder develops. Many people given the diagnosis have experienced trauma, particularly in childhood, but this is not the only factor.  

Project aims

This project will explore the role neighbourhood environment may play in the development of personality disorder.   

We will:  

• Look at existing evidence on the topic  

• Explore associations between different neighbourhood factors and personality disorder, in a study using population data  

• Investigate links between the neighbourhood where someone grows up and personality difficulties in adulthood, using data from an existing study in Bristol 

What we hope to achieve

This project will help us understand more about the causes of personality disorder, which could help us understand how to better support people who are given the diagnosis.  

We hope that the findings will be fed into future government strategies to help reduce the likelihood of someone developing personality disorder. For example, by improving housing, or improving the quality of the neighbourhoods that people grow up in. It could also help us target services to areas where they are most needed. 

We will work closely with people with lived experience to shape the research and understand our findings. 

This project is being conducted as part of Jonathan Monk-Cunliffe’s PhD.