Abstract
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) represents a severe mental condition that is usually characterized by distressing identity disturbances. Although most prevailing explanatory models and psychotherapy approaches consider and intervene on self-concept, they seem not to recognize or explore idiosyncratic cognitive conflicts that patients may experience. These conflicts, which have been conceptualized as “implicative dilemmas” and “dilemmatic constructs” by personal construct theorists, could be considered as key elements of the explanatory model for BPD to provide a better understanding of this disorder and possibly enhance the effectiveness of contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches. The current study (Identifier: NCT04498104) aims to examine the characteristics of the interpersonal cognitive system of a group of patients diagnosed with BPD, using the repertory grid technique, and to compare them with those of a community sample. We will test if BPD participants are more affected by cognitive conflicts than controls. Additionally, we will gauge the association between cognitive conflicts and symptom severity as well as their predictive capacity of treatment outcome. The obtained results will be a necessary step to determine if cognitive conflicts have a substantial role on the explanation of BPD. It could also help to consider the development of a conflict resolution intervention module for this disorder.
Highlights
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a highly disabling condition that has a severe impact on quality of life and psychosocial functioning of those affected [1]
It has been generally reported that up to 90% of BPD patients develop a pattern of nonsuicidal self-injuries (NSSIs), such as cutting or burning [6], and about 60–70% commit at least one unsuccessful suicide attempt [7], other studies find even greater prevalence rates (e.g., [8])
The aim of this study is to investigate whether BPD-diagnosed patients have a higher presence and number of cognitive conflicts as compared to controls
Summary
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a highly disabling condition that has a severe impact on quality of life and psychosocial functioning of those affected [1]. Its prevalence is estimated in 1–2% of the general population, this rate can go up to 22% in clinical settings [2]. People with BPD may experience a broad variety of clinical manifestations but most of them are related to emotional, interpersonal and self-image instability, along with extreme and impulsive reasoning and demeanor. Disorders (DSM-5) [4], an individual should meet five out of the nine possible criteria to receive a BPD diagnosis. It is usually said that two patients with a diagnosis of BPD might have quite different experiences due to the wide diversity of possible symptom combinations they can undergo
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