bid disorders in adolescent patients with BPD can thus pose a significant challenge for professionals in their efforts to determine the most appropriate treatment for adolescent BP patients.
The purpose of this research study will be to identify which conventional treatments for adult patients with BPD will be most effective for treating children adolescent patients with BPD and comorbid disorders. The research question that will serve as a guiding framework for this study is: Which of the conventional treatments of BPD will be most effective for treating children and adolescent patients with BPD and comorbid disorders: biochemical treatment, psychosocial therapy, or both?
An extensive review of literature has been conducted on the comorbidity of BPD and various types of disorders. In their comparison of children and adolescents with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Biederman et al. (1997) found that children with early-onset BPD were more at risk for SUD than those with late on-set BPD, regardless of the presence of the ADHD diagnosis. The strong association between BPD and SUD was also confirmed by the Wilens et al.'s (2004) study of 57 children with BPD and 46 control children with no psychiatric disorders. The study's findings indicated that 32 percent of the children with BPD also had SUDs, in contrast to seven percent of the control children. West et al. (1996) also reported the comorbid disorders of BPD and SUD among 40 percent of the inpatient adolescents with BPD.
Apart from SUDs, a significant minority of children and adolesbents with BPD h`ve conduct disorders. For example, Geller et al. (1995) reported that 22 percent of children with BPD and 18 percent of their adolescent counterparts were diagnosed with conduct disorder. Another common psychiatric disorder that is associated with BPD in children and adolescents is anxiety disorder. Geller et al. (1995) stated that 33 percen...