Differentiating adolescents with borderline personality disorder from normal adolescents and adolescents with other disorders
Year: 2004
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This research investigates whether adolescents with Borderline \nPersonality Disorder (BPD) can be reliably differentiated from normal and \nother-disordered adolescents. Psychoanalytic theory describes borderline \npsychopathology as deriving from difficulties in the separation/individuation \nphase of early development. Mahler (1946) portrays the rapprochement \nsubphase of this period as a time when the child is vulnerable to the \nnascent of personality disorders. Blos (1967) elaborated this theory positing \nadolescence as a “second individuation” where earlier \nseparation/individuation difficulties reemerge. Difficulties in the \nrapprochement stage make the second individuation problematic, leaving \nthe adolescent at risk for borderline pathology. \n Westen (2003) states that research on BPD in adolescence \nremains in its infancy. Studies conducted in the 1990’s revealed BPD can \nbe reliably diagnosed in adolescents (Block et al., 1991; Westen et al., \n1990). The validity of the concept in this age group remains to be shown, \nhowever. “The overlap with other disorders, the difficulty with diagnosing \nor differentiating borderline symptoms in the setting of continuing \nadolescent development, and the lack, as yet, of outcome data add to the \nconceptual confusion” (James et al., 1996). \n The most recognized theory on BPD, developed by Kernberg (1977), \nsuggests individuals with BPD can be distinguished by their 1) object \nrelations, 2) primitive defensive operations, and 3) reality testing. This study \nhypothesized that Kernberg’s characteristics, and individuation difficulties \nhighlighted by Blos, are more problematic in adolescent girls who meet the \ncriteria for BPD than normal or other-disordered adolescent girls. \n The measures in this study—DIB-R, Splitting Index, Separation \nIndividuation Questionnaire, BORRTI--measure BPD, splitting, \nseparation/individuation, and object relations and reality testing, respectively. \n Participants were drawn from a clinical setting, foster care, or the \nnormal population. The presence of borderline psychopathology was \nascertained by the DIB-R (Zanarini, et al., 1989), thus establishing three \ngroups composed of 21 borderline, 17 other-disordered, and 33 non-clinical \nadolescents. Each participant was asked to complete the three \naforementioned measures. As predicted, significantly more borderline \nparticipants demonstrated more severe difficulties than the other groups. \n These results allow for greater diagnostic clarity and outline specific \nareas of focus for researchers and practitioners such that earlier recovery \nmight be achieved.
Author: Anna E. Middleton
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1859709845