title: Body self-evaluation and physical scars in patients with borderline personality disorder: an observational study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data from general psychology suggest that body self-evaluation is linked to self-esteem and social emotions. Although these emotions are fragile in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), body self-evaluation is clearly understudied in BPD research.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 200 women took part in the study: 80 female BPD patients, and 47 healthy and 73 clinical controls including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Diagnoses were established through standardised interviews conducted by experienced psychologists. The participants used the Survey of Body Areas to indicate which areas of their own bodies they liked or disliked and to mark the locations of physical scars.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to healthy controls, both BPD patients and patients with PTSD after CSA had a predominantly negative body self-evaluation (Cohen's d = 1.42 and 1.38, respectively). As indicated by multilevel analyses, scars were related to a negative evaluation of the affected areas in BPD patients, but not in the control groups. Subgroup analyses revealed that the negative body self-evaluation applies to both BPD patients with and without PTSD or reported CSA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BPD patients show a negative body self-evaluation which is associated with the presence of scars but not with CSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, 48149 Germany.
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kleindienst
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, 48149 Germany.
authors.forename: Kathlen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Priebe
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport and Sport Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, 76131 Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borgmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, 48149 Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cornelisse
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, 48149 Germany.
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, 48149 Germany ; Department of Sport and Sport Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, 76131 Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ebner-Priemer
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport and Sport Sciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, 76131 Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dyer
keywords: Body self-evaluation; Borderline personality disorder; Childhood sexual abuse; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Scars