Examination of body concept of female patients with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

The operationalized diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) by DSM-IV and ICD-10 (research criteria) is meanwhile considered as valid and reliable. A disturbed or inappropriate body image within the group of borderline patients is not assessed by these instruments. Using the "Frankfurter Körperkonzeptskalen" [6], we compared the body concept of 47 female patients with BPD with a group of patients with the diagnosis of Bulimia nervosa and with a representative sample of healthy subjects. We found highly significant differences between patients with BPD and the clinical controls as well as to the norm group. Neither dissociative symptoms nor sexual child abuse correlate with the extent of the negative body concept. Correlations between self-concept (Giessen-Test) and body concept as well as clinical implications of these findings are discussed.