Interpersonal perceptions of depressed and borderline inpatients

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychology 1997-01, Vol.53 (1), p.41-49
• Main Authors: Stern, Marcia I., Herron, William G., Primavera, Louis H., Kakuma, Tatsu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Borderline Personality Disorder - complications; Borderline Personality Disorder - psychology; Case-Control Studies; Chi-Square Distribution; Depressive Disorder - complications; Family - psychology; Female; Hostility; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Multivariate Analysis; Object Attachment; Personality; Personality disorders; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rejection (Psychology); Self-Assessment; Social Perception
• ISSN: 0021-9762; 1097-4679
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199701)53:1<41::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-Y

Distortions in interpersonal perceptions among patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) were explored to investigate the validity of object relations theories. Depressed patients with BPD were compared to patients with major depressive disorder (MD) without BPD. Subjects were 77 male and female inpatients (BPD = 55, MD = 22). The mean ages were 30.5 for BPD subjects and 36.3 for MD subjects. Perceptions of patients, relatives, and interviewers were compared on the following measures: Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, Perceived Criticism Scale, and Camberwell Family Interview. Findings are consistent with object relations theory. BPD patients saw themselves as hostile, labile, and unstable. MD patients avoid acknowledging and responding to relatives criticality. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.