Patterns of self-harm behavior among women with borderline personality symptomatology: psychiatric versus primary care samples

Abstract

The current study investigated differences in self-harm behavior among individuals with borderline personality symptomatology from two different clinical settings. Participants were women, between the ages of 18 and 45, from an outpatient mental health setting or a primary care setting. Each participant completed the Self-Harm Inventory (SHI) and the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R). Using a predetermined cut-off for substantial borderline personality symptomatology on the SHI, group comparisons with χ 2 analyses indicated that “overdosed” and “hit self” were significantly more common in the mental health subsample whereas “abused laxatives” was significantly more common in the primary care subsample. Using a predetermined cut-off for borderline personality on the PDQ-R, chi-square analyses indicated that “overdosed” and “hit self” remained significantly more common in the mental health subsample. Despite these differences, there was remarkable similarity of symptoms between groups. The implications of these findings are discussed.