Is Borderline Personality a Disorder?

Authors of a family aggregation study contend that it is, but their data should be interpreted more cautiously.

Current proposals for DSM-V eliminate categorical diagnoses of personality disorder, emphasizing instead dimensions of personality dysfunction. These investigators addressed the stability of the borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis by examining the degrees to which BPD and some of its component traits are familial. The study population was 132 women with BPD diagnosed by both DSM-IV criteria and the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, 134 women who never had BPD, 102 women with major depression, and 885 siblings and parents of these women.

In all participants, investigators determined categorical diagnoses and assessed affective, interpersonal, behavioral, and cognitive domains of BPD. Prevalence of BPD was higher in rel…

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research