Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex, serious psychiatric disorder characterized by pervasive instability in regulation of emotion, self-image, interpersonal relationships, and impulse control.1 BPD is the most prevalent personality disorder in clinical settings and is associated with severe functional impairment, substantial treatment utilization, and high rates of mortality by suicide.2–5 Clinical studies have also shown BPD to be highly comorbid with most substance use, mood, anxiety, and other personality disorders (PDs).6–12

Although BPD is among the most frequently studied PDs in clinical settings, little is known about its prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity in general population samples. Several earlier community studies13–27 of BPD were limited by selection of small samples (n=133–799) not entirely representative of the general population. Others preselected individuals from larger general population samples based on responses to PD screening instruments or psychopathology,15,19,20,24 further limiting the size of the survey samples on which to base prevalence estimates. Of the 2 larger-scale epidemiologic surveys, the one conducted in Norway28 (n = 2,053) was compromised by a low response rate (57%), and the Australian survey29 (n=10,641) used a PD screening measure rather than a diagnostic assessment instrument to assess PDs. Because of these limitations, very little is known about the sociodemographic characteristics, disability, and comorbidity of BPD with other psychiatric disorders. The 1 study that presented data on disorder-specific comorbidity19 did not control for other comorbid disorders, thereby precluding analysis of common and unique factors underlying disorder-specific associations with BPD.

The lack of comprehensive and detailed information on DSM-IV BPD in the United States represents a gap in our knowledge relevant to prevention, treatment, and economic costs. The present study was designed to address this gap using data from the 2004–2005 Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).30 The Wave 2 NESARC covered DSM-IV alcohol and specific drug use disorders, and mood and anxiety disorders assessed in the 2001–2002 Wave 1 NESARC,31, 32 in addition to BPD, schizotypal and narcissistic PDs, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The remaining DSM-IV PDs (avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, schizoid, histrionic, and antisocial), were assessed in the Wave 1 NESARC. The sample size and high response rate of the Wave 2 NESARC allow for reliable and precise estimation of lifetime prevalence of BPD, especially among important sociodemographic subgroups of the population. Furthermore, comorbidity of BPD with each Axis I and II disorder was examined while controlling for both sociodemographic characteristics and additional psychiatric disorders to determine the unique relationship of each specific disorder to BPD. The importance of controlling for other disorders that are highly comorbid with one another represents an advance in our understanding of comorbidity recently highlighted in the epidemiologic literature.33, 34 This study also provides information on mental and physical disability associated with BPD. Because so little is known about sex differences in BPD, information on correlates, disability and comorbidity of BPD is presented for the total sample and by sex.

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Prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity of DSM-IV narcissistic personality disorder: results from the wave 2 national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

Solving the puzzle of deliberate self-harm: the experiential avoidance model.

Deliberate self-harm has recently begun to receive more systematic attention from clinical researchers. However, there remains a general lack of consensus as to how to define and measure this important clinical construct. There is still no standardized, empirically validated measure of deliberate self-harm, making it more difficult for research in this area to advance. The present paper provides an integrative, conceptual definition of deliberate self-harm as well as preliminary psychometric data on a newly developed measure of self-harm, the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI). One hundred and fifty participants from undergraduate psychology courses completed research packets consisting of the DSHI and other measures, and 93 of these participants completed the DSHI again after an interval of 2–4 weeks (M = 3.3 weeks). Preliminary findings indicate that the DSHI has high internal consistency; adequate construct, convergent, and discriminant validity; and adequate test-retest reliability.

/pdf/measurement-of-deliberate-self-harm-preliminary-data-on-the-4otzwwky6l.pdf

Measurement of Deliberate Self-Harm: Preliminary Data on the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory

SeminarBorderline personality disorder

Over the past several decades, research has focused increasingly on developmental precursors to psychological disorders that were previously assumed to emerge only in adulthood. This change in focus follows from the recognition that complex transactions between biological vulnerabilities and psychosocial risk factors shape emotional and behavioral development beginning at conception. To date, however, empirical research on the development of borderline personality is extremely limited. Indeed, in the decade since M. M. Linehan initially proposed a biosocial model of the development of borderline personality disorder, there have been few attempts to test the model among at-risk youth. In this review, diverse literatures are reviewed that can inform understanding of the ontogenesis of borderline pathology, and testable hypotheses are proposed to guide future research with at-risk children and adolescents. One probable pathway is identified that leads to borderline personality disorder; it begins with early vulnerability, expressed initially as impulsivity and followed by heightened emotional sensitivity. These vulnerabilities are potentiated across development by environmental risk factors that give rise to more extreme emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dysregulation.

A biosocial developmental model of borderline personality: Elaborating and extending Linehan's theory.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to assess the lifetime rates of occurrence of a full range of DSM-III-R axis I disorders in a group of patients with criteria-defined borderline personality disorder and comparison subjects with other personality disorders. Method:The axis I comorbidity of 504 inpatients with personality disorders was assessed by interviewers who were blind to clinical diagnosis and who used a semistructured research interview of demonstrated reliability.Results:Four new findings emerged from this study. First, anxiety disorders were found to be almost as common among borderline patients (N=379) as mood disorders but far more discriminating from axis II comparison subjects (N=125). Second, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was found to be a common but not universal comorbid disorder among borderline patients, a finding inconsistent with the view that borderline personality disorder is actually a form of chronic PTSD. Third, male and female borderline patients were found to differ...

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/ajp.155.12.1733

Axis I Comorbidity of Borderline Personality Disorder

Axis II comorbidity of borderline personality disorder

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between lifetime patterns of self-destructive behaviour and various parameters of childhood abuse and neglect in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared with other personality disorder (OPD) controls. METHOD: The subjects were 42 inpatients with the diagnosis of BPD and 17 OPD controls. Lifetime patterns of self-destructive behaviour were assessed using the Lifetime Borderline Symptom Index. Childhood experiences were assessed using a semistructured interview by raters who were blind to diagnosis. RESULTS: Chronic self-destructive behaviour discriminated patients with BPD from OPD controls. In the borderline group, parental sexual abuse was significantly related to suicidal behaviour and both parental sexual abuse and emotional neglect were significantly related to self-mutilation. CONCLUSION: Both parental sexual abuse and emotional neglect appear to play a role in the etiology of self-destructive behaviour in BPD. The results highlight the importance of considering the effects of sexual abuse within its environmental context and suggest that the etiology of borderline symptoms is likely multifactorial. Language: en

Elyse D Dubo

Papers

Axis I Comorbidity of Borderline Personality Disorder

Axis II comorbidity of borderline personality disorder

Childhood Antecedents of Self-Destructiveness in Borderline Personality Disorder: