Axis I dissociative disorder comorbidity in borderline personality disorder and reports of childhood trauma.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the dissociative disorder comorbidity of borderline personality disorder and its relation to childhood trauma reports in a nonclinical population.


METHODS
In April 2003, 1301 college students were screened for borderline personality disorder using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Steinberg's dissociation questionnaires were also administered. During May and June 2003, 80 students with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and 111 nonborderline students were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders by an interviewer blind to the diagnosis and scores obtained during the first phase.


RESULTS
The prevalence of borderline personality disorder was 8.5%. A significant majority (72.5%; 58/80) of the borderline personality disorder group had a dissociative disorder, whereas this rate was only 18.0% (20/111) for the comparison group (p < .001). Childhood emotional and sexual abuse, physical neglect, and total childhood trauma scores had significant effect for borderline personality disorder (p < .001, p = .038, p = .044, and p = .003, respectively), whereas emotional neglect and diminished minimization of childhood trauma had significant effect for dissociative disorder (p = .020 and p = .007, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
A significant proportion of subjects with borderline personality disorder have a comorbid dissociative disorder. Lack of interaction between dissociative disorder and borderline personality disorder diagnoses for any type of childhood trauma contradicts the opinion that both disorders together might be a single disorder. Recognizing highly prevalent but usually neglected Axis I dissociative disorder comorbidity in patients with borderline personality disorder may contribute to conceptual clarification of this spectrum of psychopathology.
Sar
Vedat
V
Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychotherapy Unit and Dissociative Disorders Program, Medical Faculty of Istanbul, Turkey. vsar@istanbul.edu.tr
Akyuz
Gamze
G
Kugu
Nesim
N
Ozturk
Erdinc
E
Ertem-Vehid
Hayriye
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires