title: The impact of borderline personality disorder on residential substance abuse treatment dropout among men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research is increasingly focusing on identifying factors distinguishing patients who complete vs. dropout of residential substance abuse treatment. One potentially relevant factor that has received relatively little attention is borderline personality disorder (BPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study sought to examine the effect of BPD on residential substance abuse treatment dropout within a sample of 159 male patients with substance use disorders-a population often understudied with regard to BPD and at high-risk for treatment dropout. Patients were administered a structured diagnostic interview to establish BPD diagnoses. Patients were then followed throughout the course of residential substance abuse treatment to identify those who completed treatment and those who prematurely dropped out of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with BPD were significantly more likely to prematurely dropout of treatment, and this finding remained even when taking into account relevant covariates (i.e., court-ordered treatment status, contract duration, and major depressive disorder). Further, patients with BPD were more likely to experience center-initiated dropout as opposed to voluntary withdrawal from treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings add to the literature on BPD-SUD co-occurrence, suggesting that the presence of co-occurring BPD among male SUD patients may increase the risk for dropout from residential substance abuse treatment, necessitating targeted interventions focused on decreasing dropout within this patient subgroup.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. MTull@umc.edu
authors: Matthew T
authors: MT
authors: Tull
authors: Kim L
authors: KL
authors: Gratz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D012114:Residential Treatment; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*