Moral responsibility and borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the concepts of free will and moral responsibility in a psychiatric context, and to consider whether those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be considered responsible for their actions.

METHOD

A wide, but necessarily incomplete, range of literature was reviewed in the fields of psychiatry and philosophy. I offer a set of criteria for responsible action and examine some features of BPD in the light of these criteria.

RESULTS

Impulsivity, acting out and the less severe forms of dissociation do not vitiate responsibility. Severe dissociative and psychotic symptoms may well render people with BPD less morally responsible for their actions.

CONCLUSIONS

Comorbid conditions in BPD may also affect the ability to act responsibly.