Relationship Between Oxytocin Level, Trust, and Attachment in Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder

May 22, 2024 updated by: Luba Leontieva, State University of New York - Upstate Medical University

We aim to assess the baseline oxytocin levels in individuals with borderline personality disorder and correlate those levels with social behavior, and compare the results with controls.

Primary Hypothesis (H1):

There is a significant difference in trust-related behavior as measured by oxytocin (OXT) levels between borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients and healthy controls.

Secondary Hypotheses:

H2: The trust-related behavior in BPD patients is significantly influenced by their level of emotional sensitivity. Specifically, higher emotional sensitivity in BPD patients is associated with lower trust-related behavior and vice-versa.

H3: There is a significant correlation between trust-related behavior and childhood trauma in BPD patients. BPD patients with higher levels of reported childhood trauma will exhibit lower trust-related behavior compared to those with lower levels of trauma.

H4: Trust-related behavior in BPD patients varies depending on their attachment styles. Specifically, BPD patients with insecure attachment styles will exhibit lower trust-related behavior compared to those with secure attachment styles.

H5: There is a significant correlation between trust-related behavior and BPD severity. Patients with more severe BPD symptoms will exhibit lower trust-related behavior compared to those with less severe symptoms.

H6: The levels of OXT in BPD patients will significantly correlate with their reported levels of emotional sensitivity, childhood trauma, attachment styles, and BPD severity.

These hypotheses aim to address the complexities surrounding the modulation of trust-related behavior by oxytocin in BPD patients, taking into account various factors like emotional sensitivity, childhood adversity, attachment styles, and BPD severity. By testing these hypotheses, the study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between these factors in influencing trust-related behavior in BPD patients.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

92

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Syracuse, New York, United States, 13210
        • SUNY Upstate Medical University
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

cases: individuals who are admitted to the inpatient psychiatry unit at a university hospital controls: healthy volunteers who volunteer to participate from the same city as the university hospital

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with borderline personality disorder will qualify as cases
  • controls will be age, gender matched individuals without any psychiatric/mental health concerns

Exclusion Criteria:

  • for all: pregnancy, hormonal or neurological disorders, and any kind of regular medication
  • additional exclusion criteria for cases: a lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or significant neurological disease, current alcohol/ drug dependence
  • for controls: MacLEan screening instrument for BPD will be used at the time of screening to exclude BPD diagnosis in controls

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Cases
Participants with borderline personality disorder who meet the inclusion criteria
Other: baseline serum oxytocin levels
Both cases and controls will be assessed for their baseline serum oxytocin levels
Other: Emotional Sensitivity test
To assess the level of emotional sensitivity in the participant
Other: Neuro-economical game
A game played to assess the trust-index of participants
Other: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire
to assess childhood trauma score
Other: Relationships Questionnaire
to assess attachment type
Other: demographic questionnaire
To obtain basic data on demographics
Controls
Participants without borderline personality disorder, who meet the inclusion criteria
Other: baseline serum oxytocin levels
Both cases and controls will be assessed for their baseline serum oxytocin levels
Other: Emotional Sensitivity test
To assess the level of emotional sensitivity in the participant
Other: Neuro-economical game
A game played to assess the trust-index of participants
Other: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire
to assess childhood trauma score
Other: Relationships Questionnaire
to assess attachment type
Other: demographic questionnaire
To obtain basic data on demographics

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Correlation of Oxytocin levels and trust index
Time Frame: Day 1
Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

State University of New York - Upstate Medical University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 7, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

September 21, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 24, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 22, 2024

Last Verified

May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2060971

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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