RELATIONSHIP OF BORDERLINE SYMPTOMS TO HISTORIES OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT- A PILOT-STUDY

Axis II diagnoses of 50 applicants for long-term inpatient treatment w ere obtained using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire, Revised. Clinical records were coded for evidence of a history of childhood abu se or neglect. Seventy-five percent of patients with a diagnosis of Bo rderline Personality Disorder (BPD) had histories of some type of abus e, compared with 33 percent of the nonborderline patients. A principal components analysis of the eight DSM-III-R criteria for BPD and histo ries of abuse and neglect showed that abuse history is correlated with the criteria of unstable relationships, feelings of emptiness, and ab andonment fears, whereas neglect history is correlated with suicidal b ehavior. Affective instability, intense anger, and identity disturbanc e were uncorrelated with abuse or neglect. Thus, the affective symptom s of BPD appear to be unrelated to aversive childhood events, consiste nt with the concept of a subtype of BPD dominated by affective dysregu lation.