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Identity disturbance in borderline personality disorder: an empirical investigation.

OBJECTIVE: Identity disturbance is one of the nine criteria for borderline personality disorder in DSM-IV, yet the precise nature of this disturbance has received little empirical attention. This study examines 1) the extent to which identity disturbance is a single construct, 2) the extent to which it distinguishes patients with borderline personality disorder, and 3) the role of sexual abuse in identity disturbance in patients with borderline personality disorder. METHOD: The authors constructed an instrument that consisted of 35 indicators of identity disturbance culled from relevant clinical and theoretical literature and asked clinicians to rate a patient on each of the items. The patient group consisted of 95 subjects diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (N=34), another personality disorder (N=20), or no personality disorder (N=41). Relevant diagnostic, demographic, and developmental history data were also collected. The authors used factor analysis to ascertain whether identity disturbance is a unitary construct and then examined the relation between dimensions of identity disturbance and borderline diagnosis after controlling for sexual abuse history. RESULTS: Four identity disturbance factors were identified: role absorption (in which patients tend to define themselves in terms of a single role or cause), painful incoherence (a subjective sense of lack of coherence), inconsistency (an objective incoherence in thought, feeling, and behavior), and lack of commitment (e.g., to jobs or values). All four factors, but particularly painful incoherence, distinguished patients with borderline personality disorder. Although sexual abuse was associated with some of the identity factors, particularly painful incoherence, borderline pathology contributed unique variance beyond abuse history to all four identity disturbance factors. The data also provided further evidence for an emerging empirical distinction between two borderline personality disorder types: one defined by emotional dysregulation and dysphoria, the other by histrionic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Identity disturbance is a multifaceted construct that distinguishes patients with borderline personality disorder from other patients. Some of its components are related to a history of sexual abuse, whereas others are not. Identity disturbance appears to be characteristic of borderline patients whether or not they have an abuse history.

Borderline Personality Disorder↗

Comorbidity of personality disorders with bipolar mood disorders.

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of personality disorders in a group of outpatients with bipolar I disorder. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) was administered to 90 bipolar outpatients who met the DSM-III-R criteria and 58 control subjects. Of the patients and controls, 47.7% and 15.5%, respectively, had at least one personality disorder. At least one personality disorder in clusters A, B, and C and obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, histrionic, and borderline personality disorders were significantly more prevalent in bipolars. Suicide attempts were more frequent in patients with a history of personality disorder.

Adult↗

Substance abuse patterns and their association with psychopathology and type of hostility in male patients with borderline and antisocial personality disorder.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of substance use disorder in young adult patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial personality disorder (APD) and to ascertain the specific substances each of these groups choose to abuse. An additional aim was to assess whether alcohol and drug abuse in the patients related to their psychopathology and hostility. The study subjects were 41 hospitalized patients with BPD and 44 hospitalized patients with APD. The diagnoses of personality disorders and substance use disorders were made using DSM-III criteria. Psychopathology patterns were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Hostility was assessed using the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire. Abuse of one or more substances was reported by 76% of BPD patients and 95% of APD patients. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of alcohol abuse, but certain substances (such as benzodiazepines, anticholinergics, cannabis, and opioids) were abused more than twice as often by APD patients versus BPD patients. APD patients were more likely than BPD patients to be multiusers. In BPD patients, the number of substances abused showed a negative association with depression, while in APD patients it was positively related to state anxiety. In both patient groups, there was no correlation of the number of abused substances with the degree of extroverted or introverted hostility.

Adjustment Disorders↗

Auditory P300 in borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia.

Using three sets of clinical criteria to define borderline personality disorder (BPD), P300 (P3) and other long-latency auditory event-related electroencephalographic potentials were measured in 22 subjects with BPD, 32 subjects with other personality disorders, 29 schizophrenics, 22 depressives, and 74 volunteer controls. The patients with BPD were found to differ from patients with nonborderline personality disorders, having a longer P3 latency and smaller P3 amplitude. Long-latency event-related potentials were similar in the BPD and schizophrenic groups and did not differentiate patients with BPD with a concurrent diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder from those without schizotypal personality disorder. The P3 latency and amplitude changes distinguished the BPD and schizophrenic groups from normal controls, those with major depressive disorder, and those with nonborderline personality disorders. These findings suggest that though some patients with BPD may have depressive symptomatology, they share with schizophrenics a dysfunction of auditory neurointegration.

Adolescent↗

Multiple personality disorder in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: There are no reliable data on the prevalence of multiple personality disorder. The objective of the study was to determine whether and, if so, how frequently patients with multiple personality disorder are encountered and diagnosed in Switzerland. METHOD: All qualified Swiss psychiatrists were sent a questionnaire on multiple personality disorder along with the DSM-III description of multiple personality disorder and three case examples. A total of 836 psychiatrists (66%) answered after two mailings, and 770 questionnaires qualified for evaluation. In addition, a random sample of nonresponders were contacted by telephone. RESULTS: Three percent of the psychiatrists indicated that, at the time of the inquiry, they were treating or examining one or more patients who met DSM-III criteria for multiple personality disorder, and 10% indicated that they had seen multiple personality disorder at least once during their professional career. The patients were not equally distributed among the psychiatrists; three colleagues reported that they had seen much higher numbers of patients with multiple personality disorder. The point prevalence of multiple personality disorder among patients seen by psychiatrists in Switzerland amounts to 0.05%-0.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple personality disorder appears to be a disorder that genuinely exists, even though it occurs relatively rarely.

Adolescent↗

A family study of outpatients with borderline personality disorder and no history of mood disorder.

While several studies have examined psychiatric disorders in the relatives of individuals with borderline personality disorder, many of these studies have not employed a family study methodology and suffer from other methodological shortcomings. Thus, the conclusions from family data addressing the validity of borderline personality disorder, its relation to other conditions, and its distinction from mood disorders, continue to be debated. The present investigation employed a family study design with direct interviews with relatives, structured diagnostic interviews with both probands and relatives, and blind assessment of relatives. Rates of psychiatric disorders were examined in 563 relatives of outpatients with mood disorders (n = 119), 54 relatives of outpatients with borderline personality disorder and no history of mood disorder (n = 11), and 229 relatives of never psychiatrically ill controls (n = 45). Results indicate increased rates of mood disorders and personality disorders in the relatives of borderline probands compared with never psychiatrically ill controls. Familial aggregation of psychiatric disorders was generally similar for borderline personality and the mood disorder comparison group. The results suggest there may be common etiological factors between borderline personality disorder and mood disorders.

Adult↗

Familial transmission of schizotypal and borderline personality disorders.

The authors determined the risk for psychiatric disorders in the first-degree relatives of 36 probands with schizotypal personality disorder (13 definite, 23 probable), 17 probands with borderline personality disorder (two definite, 15 probable), and 90 normal control probands. The relatives of probands with schizotypal personality disorder without a concurrent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder had a significantly greater risk for schizotypal personality disorder than the relatives of normal control probands, borderline probands, or schizotypal probands with coexisting borderline personality disorder. The relatives of borderline probands had a significantly greater risk for definite and probable borderline personality disorder than the relatives of normal control probands.

Adult↗

Impulsivity and serotonergic function in compulsive personality disorder.

This study compared serotonergic function, as assessed by prolactin response to fenfluramine, in males with compulsive personality disorder, males with noncompulsive personality disorders, and normal control subjects. The two patient groups did not differ in age, depression status, suicide history, or comorbid borderline personality disorder. However, compulsive personality disorder patients had significantly greater impulsive aggressive scores than the noncompulsive patients and significantly blunted prolactin responses compared with the non-compulsive patients and normal control subjects. In the combined patient group, total compulsive personality disorder traits correlated positively with impulsive aggression score and inversely with prolactin response. These results support the hypothesis that impulsive and compulsive symptoms do not simply lie at opposite ends of a phenomenological and neurobiological spectrum, but rather have a complex intersection and may both correlate with serotonergic dysfunction.

Adult↗

Neurobiological measures of schizotypal personality disorder: defining an inhibitory endophenotype?

OBJECTIVE: Subjects with schizotypal personality disorder demonstrate deficits in inhibition when assessed on prepulse inhibition, P50 suppression, and antisaccade paradigms. This study determined if distinct subgroups of subjects with schizotypal personality disorder could be identified on the basis of performance on these measures and whether endophenotypes could be defined for future genetic study by using measures of inhibitory function. METHOD: Prepulse inhibition, P50 suppression, and antisaccade paradigms were assessed in 21 subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. RESULTS: Seven subjects with schizotypal personality disorder had deficits on each paradigm; seven had no deficits on any paradigm. P50 and antisaccade deficits were present in five of the same subjects and significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that P50 and antisaccade performance reflects a common endophenotype and that prepulse inhibition identifies a separate endophenotype reflecting different neurobiological substrate(s) in subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. This pattern may generalize to schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

CSF homovanillic acid in schizotypal personality disorder.

CSF concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in 10 patients with schizotypal personality disorder and 14 patients with other personality disorders. The patients with schizotypal personality disorder had higher CSF HVA concentrations than the patients with other personality disorders. Furthermore, the psychotic-like schizotypal symptoms correlated positively with the CSF HVA concentrations. These results suggest a central dopaminergic dysfunction associated with the psychotic-like symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder.

Adult↗

Dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders: relationships to functional impairment.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared three-dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders and standard categories with respect to their associations with psychosocial functioning. METHOD: Six hundred sixty-eight patients with semistructured interview diagnoses of schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorders or with major depressive disorder and no personality disorder completed questionnaires assessing three-factor and five-factor dimensional models of personality. Personality disorder categories, dimensional representations of the categories based on criteria counts, and three- and five-factor personality dimensions were compared on their relationships to impairment in seven domains of functioning, as measured by the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation-Baseline Version. RESULTS: Both the categorical and dimensional representations of DSM-IV personality disorders had stronger relationships to impairment in functioning in the domains of employment, social relationships with parents and friends, and global social adjustment and to DSM-IV axis V ratings than the three- and five-factor models. DSM-IV dimensions predicted functional impairment best of the four approaches. Although five-factor personality traits captured variance in functional impairment not predicted by DSM-IV personality disorder dimensions, the DSM-IV dimensions accounted for significantly more variance than the measures of personality. CONCLUSIONS: Scores on dimensions of general personality functioning do not appear to be as strongly associated with functional impairment as the psychopathology of DSM personality disorder. A compromise in the ongoing debate over categories versus dimensions of personality disorder might be the dimensional rating of the criteria that comprise traditional categories.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Patients with personality disorder admitted to secure forensic psychiatry services.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of patients with personality disorder remains controversial and severe mental illness is prioritized in secure forensic psychiatry services. AIMS: To compare patients with personality disorder and mental illness according to demography, referral, criminality, previous institutionalisation and diagnostic comorbidity. METHOD: A record survey of 511 patients with personality disorder and 2575 with mental illness admitted to secure forensic psychiatry services between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1994 from half of England and Wales. RESULTS: Personality disorder admissions declined over time; more were female, White, younger and extensively criminal (specifically, sexual and arson offences). Personality disorder was highly comorbid; antisocial, borderline, paranoid and dependent personality disorder were most prevalent. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with personality disorder were highly selected and previously known to psychiatric services. Referrer, diagnostic comorbidity and behavioural presentation determined their pathways into care. Future research must determine whether their continuing admission represents effective use of scarce resources and whether new services are required.

Adult↗

Diagnostic efficiency of borderline personality disorder criteria in hospitalized adolescents: comparison with hospitalized adults.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the diagnostic efficiency of borderline personality disorder criteria in adolescent inpatients. For comparison, diagnostic efficiency of borderline personality disorder criteria was also examined in a group of concurrently recruited adult inpatients. METHOD: Adolescents (N=123) and adults (N=106) were reliably assessed with the Personality Disorder Examination, a semistructured diagnostic interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders. Sixty-five adolescents and 50 adults met diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder. Conditional probabilities were calculated to determine which borderline personality disorder criteria were most efficient as inclusion criteria and as exclusion criteria. Adolescents and adults were analyzed separately, and the results were compared. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups with regard to the base rates of the borderline personality disorder diagnosis nor for any borderline personality disorder criterion. The best inclusion criterion for the adolescents was abandonment fears, though for the adults all symptoms were approximately equivalent in this regard. The most efficient exclusion criterion was uncontrolled anger for the adolescents and impulsiveness for the adults. CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized patients, borderline personality disorder and its symptoms appear to be as frequent for adolescents as for adults. Despite these surface similarities between groups with respect to symptom patterns, several differences were found at the level of the diagnostic efficiency for individual borderline personality disorder criteria. These differences may shed light on the nature of borderline psychopathology during adolescence.

Adolescent↗

Prevalence of personality disorder in alcohol and drug services and associated comorbidity.

AIMS: To compare the prevalence of personality disorder in alcohol and drug populations with special attention to its impact on psychopathology and service characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Three alcohol and four drug services in four urban UK centres. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and sixteen drug and 64 alcohol service patients randomly sampled from current treatment populations. MEASUREMENTS: A treatment population census recorded demographic and diagnostic data. Patient interviews assessed the presence, cluster type and severity of personality disorder using the Quick Personality Assessment Schedule (PAS-Q). Other psychopathology was measured using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS). A case-note audit recorded psychotic psychopathology using the OPCRIT schedule and data regarding social morbidity. FINDINGS: The overall prevalence of personality disorder was 37% in the drug service sample and 53% in the alcohol service sample. The distribution of severity and clusters differed markedly between the two samples. There was a significant association between the severity of personality disorder and psychopathology in both samples. Levels of morbidity associated with clusters B and C were similar. Clinical diagnosis of personality disorder showed high specificity but low sensitivity when compared to PAS-Q. CONCLUSIONS: In both alcohol and drug service populations, personality disorder is associated with significantly increased rates of psychopathology and social morbidity that worsens with increasing severity of the disorder. Despite this, personality disorder is poorly identified by clinical staff. The PAS-Q may be useful as a clinical assessment tool in the substance misuse population for the early identification and management of patients with personality disorder.

Comorbidity↗

Occurrence and effects of personality disorders in depression: are they the same in the old and young?

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency and effects of personality disorders on episodes of depression in elderly and young inpatients. Personality disorders are common and may affect the prognosis of Axis I disorders. METHODS: Clinical records of 89 elderly inpatients and a matched comparison group of 119 young inpatients were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of a major depressive episode according to the DSM-III-R criteria. The frequency of personality disorder diagnoses in the 2 groups was determined. Within each group, severity, functioning, and treatment were compared between those with and without personality disorders. RESULTS: Personality disorders were diagnosed more frequently in the young (40.3%) than in the elderly (27%). Both rates were similar to previous reports. Cluster C disorders were the most common personality disorders found in the elderly, compared to cluster B disorders in the young. Personality disorder in the young was associated with longer episodes of depression (P = 0.035) and poorer family relations (P < 0.001); whereas in the elderly, personality disorder was associated with more severe episodes (P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the frequency and effects of personality disorders on the depressed patient may differ according to age.

Adult↗

Nursing care of personality disorders in the medical surgery setting.

When patients with personality disorders are treated for medical conditions in an acute care setting, nurses are frequently unaware of the diagnosis. Yet the behavior patterns can create problems for both patient and nursing staff. This article will (1) present an overview of personality disorders; (2) examine personality characteristics of patients with borderline and antisocial personality disorders and the difficulties that arise from splitting, impulsiveness, suicide attempts, manipulation, and aggression; and (3) discuss intervention strategies the nurse who encounters a patient exhibiting a personality disorder can use.

Aggression↗

Justification for separating schizotypal and borderline personality disorders.

Siever and Gunderson (1979) have questioned the decision to separate Schizotypal Personality Disorder from Borderline Personality Disorder in DSM-III. The justification for this separation rests not on genetic evidence, but rather on the relative independence of the behavioral characteristics of two dimensions that up to now have both been referred to with the appellation "borderline." We believe that this separation provides the tools with which investigators may usefully study the interaction of genetic and environmental factors as they relate to personality and the major psychiatric disorders. The benefits of this separation are already apparent in that research investigators are now using two terms to describe different phenomena, when previously they were using the single term borderline. Proposed diagnostic criteria for Schizotypal Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder are appended.

Chronic Disease↗