Cognitive features of borderline personality disorder

Am J Psychiatry. 1990 Jan;147(1):57-63. doi: 10.1176/ajp.147.1.57.

Abstract

Of 50 patients with borderline personality disorder, 100% reported disturbed but nonpsychotic thought, 40% (N = 20) reported quasi-psychotic thought, and none reported true psychotic thought during the past 2 years; only 14% (N = 7) reported ever experiencing true psychotic thought. Disturbed and quasi-psychotic thought was significantly more common among these patients than among patients with other axis II disorders or schizophrenia and normal control subjects; however, true psychotic thought was significantly more common among schizophrenic patients. While disturbed thought was also common among axis II disorder and schizophrenic patients, quasi-psychotic thought was reported by only one of these subjects, suggesting that quasi-psychotic thought may be a marker for borderline personality disorder.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / diagnosis
  • Borderline Personality Disorder / psychology*
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Cognition Disorders / epidemiology
  • Delusions / diagnosis
  • Delusions / psychology
  • Depersonalization / diagnosis
  • Depersonalization / psychology
  • Female
  • Hallucinations / diagnosis
  • Hallucinations / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Paranoid Disorders / diagnosis
  • Paranoid Disorders / psychology
  • Prevalence
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Schizophrenic Psychology