Differences in Clinical and Psychological Characteristics between Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression

Kwan, Jeong Hae; Chang, Mun Seon; Kwak, Ho Wan; Koo, Bon Hoon

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
There has been little research into comparing characteristics of the patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and depression (DEP) which can often be encountered in clinical settings. This study evaluated clinical and psychological characteristics, including defense mechanisms, among patients with BPD and DEP.
METHODS
We recruited 38 BPD and other 38 DEP patients identified based on diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 4th edition. We compared clinical and psychological characteristics between the patients with BPD and DEP using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Personality Disorder Questionnaire-4+(PDQ-4+), and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ).
RESULTS
The patients with BPD recorded significantly higher scores in somatization, hostility, paranoid ideation of the SCL-90-R and on the F, Pd, Sc, Ma scales of the MMPI than DEP patients. On the scales of the PDQ-4+, there were significant differences between patients with BPD and DEP. BPD patients used maladaptive defense style more frequently than DEP patients.
CONCLUSION
Since the patients with BPD and DEP show a high comorbidity, they present similar clinical aspects. However, BDP patients show more clinically serious instability, paranoid ideation, anger, and behavioral problems, and have more psychologically immature personality traits and defense mechanisms. Thus, when such features are highlighted in psychological tests or clinical interviews, clinicians should consider possibilities of personality disorder as well as depression in diagnosis & treatment.