Dissociative Symptoms in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Objective

To study the association of dissociative symptoms and specific psychopathological dimensions in a sample of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Methods

An observational analytic study was conducted. Patients with BPD were administered the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline (DIB-R) and Dissociative Experience Scale (DES–II).

Results

Participants were 34 adult patients with BPD. The majority presented with dissociative symptoms (65.6%; n = 21). A statistical significant correlation was found between DES total score and DIB-R subscales: depression (P = 0.04), feeling of loneliness and emptiness (P = 0.005), sexual deviation (P = 0.002) and intolerance to loneliness (P = 0.01). Furthermore, depersonalization was statistically correlated with the severity of borderline psychopathology (DIB-R total score- P = 0.04), suicidal behavior (P = 0.001) and interpersonal problems (P = 0.04). Derealization was significantly correlated with cognition (P = 0.02), psychotic thought (P = 0.004) and intolerance to loneliness (P = 0.02).

Conclusions

Dissociative symptoms are not easy to detect in the clinical daily work. More than a half of patients with BPD presented with dissociative symptoms detected with a specific rating scale. Particularly, only some specific psychopathological dimensions are correlated with dissociation and need to be assessed in patients with BPD.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.