title: Factor structure of borderline personality disorder symptomatology in adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the factor structure of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Fourth Edition, criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) in a sample of adolescents with a borderline symptomatology.
  
  
  METHODS
  The latent structure of borderline criteria, assessed with the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality, was explored with a principal factor analysis in a sample of 107 adolescents with a borderline symptomatology drawn from a European research project on BPDs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The principal component analysis revealed 2 homogeneous factors accounting for 66.8% of the variance. The first factor included internally oriented criteria, such as avoidance of abandonment, identity disturbance, chronic feeling of emptiness, and stress-related paranoid ideation. The second factor included externally oriented criteria, such as unstable relationships, impulsivity, suicidal or self-mutilating behaviours, and inappropriate anger. Affective instability was the only criterion loading on both factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggests that an internal or external dichotomy may be an appropriate way to conceptualize the structure of borderline criteria in adolescents with a borderline symptomatology, with affective instability being a core feature of BPD at this age.
authors.affiliation: Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, Service de Pédopsychiatrie, Le Chesnay, France. msperanza@ch-versailles.fr
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Speranza
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pham-Scottez
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Revah-Levy
authors.forename: Remy P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Barbe
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perez-Diaz
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Birmaher
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corcos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult