Are there differences between borderline and other personality disorders?

Abstract

Using the method of blind retrospective evaluation of clinical records, 26 DSM-III borderline and 27 DSM-III nonborderline personality disorders were compared. Apart from the younger age of borderline patients, no really important differences emerged between the groups in the sociodemographic and clinical variables studied. It is possible that differences between borderline and nonborderline personality disorders are limited to the different phenomenology as defined by the respective diagnostic criteria. The borderline diagnosis proves to be a workable tool for further explorations, although its clinical justification remains to be demonstrated.