Subtypes of borderline personality disorder, associated clinical disorders and stressful life-events: a latent class analysis based on the British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

OBJECTIVES

The current study examined the types of borderline personality profiles, associated psychological disorders and stressful life-events.

DESIGN

Data from the British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey were used to examine homogeneous subtypes of participants based on their responses to nine borderline personality disorder (BPD) criteria.

METHODS

Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify homogeneous groups, or classes, of individuals. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between classes and associated psychological disorders and stressful life-events.

RESULTS

A 4-class solution provided the best fit, ranging from a class with a low probability of showing any BPD symptoms to a class whose members had a relatively high probability of endorsing all criteria. Severity of BPD was associated with higher co-morbidity and higher stressful life-events.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that four discrete classes make up the borderline continuum.