Mc. Zanarini et Fr. Frankenburg, PATHWAYS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY-DISORDER, Journal of personality disorders, 11(1), 1997, pp. 93-104
The available empirical evidence concerning the etiology of borderline
personality disorder is reviewed. A tripartite model of the developme
nt of BPD is then presented. This model has three elements: a traumati
c childhood (broadly defined), a vulnerable (hyperbolic) temperament,
and a triggering event or series of events. The authors conclude that
each borderline patient has a unique pathway to the development of BPD
that is a painful variation on an unfortunate but familar theme.