Discriminating the panic disorder patient from patients with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

A discriminant function analysis of 72 patients with Panic Disorder (PD) and agoraphobia, and 68 patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and PD revealed five main factors that discriminated the two groups at a 94% accuracy rate. BPD patients were more likely to be female, single, and of lower socio-economic status. They reported a high rate of suicide attempts (25% vs. 0%), panic attacks that lasted longer with more fearful thoughts, more social phobia, and “anger”. They were also more likely to report a history of substance abuse, a childhood with familial conflict including sexual and/or physical abuse, more medical emergency room visits, an overall poorer treatment response, more adverse reactions to relaxation training and, not surprisingly, more multiple chronic stresses.