IDENTITY DISTURBANCE IN PERSONALITY-DISORDERS

We explored identity disturbance and some of its correlates and antece dents in patients with personality disorder (PD) pathology. A group of inpatients who all were diagnosed as PD on self-reports were divided as those with (28 patients) and without (62 patients) identity disturb ance on the basis of the DSM-III-R borderline PD identity item criteri on. The division of the patients was tested and found to be valid. Bot h groups were compared with each other. Seventy-five percent of patien ts with and 34% of patients without identity disturbance received the definite interview diagnosis of PD. The syndrome of identity disturban ce was encountered in basically all PD types. In contrast. half of all patients with PD presented no identity disturbance. Identity disturba nce did not predispose to specific axis I disorders and suicidal behav ior, and it was not correlated convincingly with childhood traumatic e xperiences and parental bonding scores. The results neither support th e DSM conceptualization of identity disturbance as an exclusive charac teristic of borderline PD. nor the Kernberg's concept of identity dist urbance as an essential of borderline personality organization which s hould be found in almost all PD types. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saun ders Company.