Toward a developmental psychopathology approach to borderline personality disorder

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of the more vexing forms of psychopathology for researchers and clinicians alike to understand. Currently, the etiology and pathogenesis of the disorder remain unclear; however, steady progress has been made in several important areas that bear upon informing a more complete understanding of this condition. Long known to clinicians in office practice and mental health staff at clinics and hospitals, BPD is a heterogenous phenotype characterized by a complex array of features such as emotional dysregulation, interpersonal dysfunction, impulsivity, self-damaging behaviors, excessive anger and fear, and identity disturbance (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The individual afflicted with BPD frequently experiences substantial social and occupational impairment, as well as frequent emotional turmoil. Those individuals who spend considerable time with a BPD-affected person, such as parents, partners, spouses, children, coworkers, and others, also encounter appreciable stresses and strains associated with the impact of BPD on the family, social, and occupational milieu.