Borderline Personality Syndrome

The American Psychiatric Association indicates about the term Borderline Personality Disorder (301.83) in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) (1987, p. 346) that "the essential feature of this disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability of self-image, interpersonal relationships, and mood, beginning by early adulthood and being present in a variety of contexts." The Borderline Personality Syndrome, then, represents a complex of associated behaviors that are consistent with the Borderline Personality Disorder.

There are several different opinions as to the exact genesis of this disorder (Straus, 1988). Guntrip, in 1971, and Mahler, in 1972, advanced that ". . . too-early overstimulation of the developing child . . ." results in the development of maladaptive defense mechanisms resulting in the borderline syndrome (Berkowitz, 1983, p. 405). Kroll (1988) reports that various forms of childhood abuse/neglect may be at issue. Briere and Runtz (1986) advance that deindividuation resulting from faulty mother-child relations, in which the mother actively reinforces selective dependent behavior, can result in Borderline Personality Disorder. Further, there may well be parentification training on the part of the mother toward the child. There are, thus, numerous possibilities for the genesis of the borderline disorder.

The developmental theoretical concept underlying the etiology of

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omplications of this disorder include Dysthymia, Major Depression, Psychoactive Substance Abuse, and such psychotic disorders as Brief Reactive Psychosis. Further, premature death may result from suicide (American Psychiatric Association, 1987, pp. 346-47). Dorr et al. (1983, p. 399) indicates that depression and rage are subsequent to feelings of abandonment, with the former being mediated by either impulsively driven behavior or return to the pathological symbiotic relationship with the mother or "mother" substitute; and the later resulting in the expulsion of emotional pain leaving the client further alienated from significant others. The impulsively driven behavior can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including promiscuity, substance abuse, larceny, cutting and other forms of self-destructive behavior. Zuckerman (1990, p. 144) reports that the borderline personality manifests the cardinal features of instability in all aspects of living, including personality functioning and social relating, abrupt shifts, and a lack of cohesiveness. The identity is often tenuous, with shifts of gender identity, long-term goals, self-esteem, self-image, and loyalties. Affectively, the borderline personality is often labile, easily

Category: Psychology - B