Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr 27:9:605.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00605. eCollection 2018.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Brief Borderline Symptom List in Undergraduate Students and Clinical Patients

Huihui Yang  1 , Xiaoxia Lei  1 , Mingtian Zhong  2 , Qi Zhou  3 , Yu Ling  4 , Martin Jungkunz  5   6 , Jinyao Yi  1   7
Affiliations

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Brief Borderline Symptom List in Undergraduate Students and Clinical Patients

Huihui Yang et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The brief version of the Borderline Symptom List (BSL-23) is a self-rated scale developed from the initial 95-item version of Borderline Symptom List (BSL-95). The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the BSL-23. A total of 570 undergraduate students and 323 clinical patients completed the BSL-23, the borderline subscale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-4+), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, 11th version (BIS-11), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the one-factor structure of the BSL-23. Cronbach's alpha, Omega coefficient, Split-Half coefficient, Mean Inter-Item Correlation (MIC) and test-retest reliability were also measured. The correlations between the BSL-23 and other psychological variables were used to assess criterion-related validity and convergent validity. Participants who scored ≥ 5 on the borderline subscale of the PDQ-4+ were placed into the borderline personality disorder (BPD) screening-positive group, while the others were placed into the screening-negative group. Independent sample t-tests were performed to examine the differences in BSL-23 scores between the BPD screening-positive group and the BPD screening-negative group. The CFA results supported the one-factor structure of the BSL-23 in both samples. The internal consistency was high both in the undergraduate sample (Cronbach's α = 0.93, Omega = 0.95, Split-Half coefficient = 0.89, MIC = 0.38) and the clinical sample (Cronbach's α = 0.97, Omega = 0.97, Split-Half coefficient = 0.96, MIC = 0.56). The test-retest reliability within 2 weeks was 0.62. The BSL-23 displayed moderate to high correlations with the PDQ-4+-Borderline subscale, the CES-D, the BIS-11, the CTQ and the ASQ (r = 0.35 - 0.70). In addition, the BSL-23 discriminated between the BPD screening-positive and the BPD screening-negative participants, and also between the patient sample and undergraduate sample. In conclusion, the Chinese version of the BSL-23 has satisfactory psychometric properties to assess BPD symptoms.

Keywords: borderline personality disorder; borderline symptom list; factor structure; reliability; validity.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Agrawal H. R., Gunderson J. G., Holmes B. M., Lyons-Ruth K. (2004). Attachment studies with borderline patients: a review. Harvard Rev. Psychiatry 12 94–104. 10.1080/10673220490447218 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. APA (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5, 5th Edn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 663–666.
    1. Arntz A., van den Hoorn M., Cornelis J., Verheul R., van den Bosch W. M. C., de Bie A. J. H. T. (2003). Reliability and validity of the borderline personality disorder severity index. J. Pers. Disord. 17 45–59. 10.1521/pedi.17.1.45.24053 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ball J. S., Links P. S. (2009). Borderline personality disorder and childhood trauma: evidence for a causal relationship. Curr. Psychiatry Rep. 11 63–68. 10.1007/s11920-009-0010-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barratt E. S., Patton J. H. (1983). “Impulsivity: cognitive, behavioral, and psychophysiological correlates,” in Biological Bases of Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity and Anxiety, ed. Zuckerman M. (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum; ), 77–116.

LinkOut - more resources