Perspectives on borderline subtypes--overview of current research.

This paper has reviewed recent efforts to subtype patients within the borderline group. An overview of current definitions of the borderline syndrome was followed by a critical evaluation of recent empirical investigations designed to subtype within the larger domain of borderline pathology. Studies of borderline patients have, in large part, been based on the descriptive-phenomenological approach. It has been argued that while establishing a reliable diagnosis based on signs and symptoms provides internal validation for current theories of the borderline syndromes, studies providing external validating criteria are sorely needed.