9.1 Validity of Borderline Personality Disorder: Implications for Assessment

Abstract

Valid and reliable assessment tools are necessary to identify borderline personality disorder (BPD) in youth. DSM criteria and corresponding assessment tools were developed based on adult presentations of BPD; however, accumulating evidence of heterotypic continuity suggests that symptoms of a particular disorder may manifest differently based on developmental timing, despite consistency in the underlying disorder. Therefore, it is beneficial to know which assessment tools are appropriate for recognizing features of BPD in youth. With increasing evidence that BPD in youth is as valid and reliable among adults, there has been an increase in psychometric studies validating assessment tools for DSM BPD in youth. However, more research is needed to understand how the construct of BPD may be distinct during this developmental phase and which instruments adequately capture this presentation of BPD. Psychometric evaluations that study how BPD criteria function differently during the transition from childhood to adulthood are one way to address this question.