Borderline personality disorder: structural personality diagnosis of a case report

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe, disabling and heterogeneous mental disorder characterized by marked impulsivity and instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and affect, with onset in adolescence or early adulthood. A clinical case of BPD is presented with a single case study design (n=1), observational, cross-sectional and descriptive in scope. The participant is a 19-year-old, single, childless, college student and supervisor in a call center, who was administered the Structural Personality Interview, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the McLean Screening Questionnaire (MSI-BPD), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Test of Object Relations (TRO) and the Person in the Rain Test. The analysis of information was done by triangulating the results of the different instruments, and the main findings were contrasted with the theories that explain BPD from a relational psychodynamic approach. The results reflect that the patient presents characteristic symptoms of BPD such as poor self-image, diffuse identity, impoverished ethical judgment, a pattern of unstable and conflictive interpersonal relationships, emotional instability, separation insecurity, impulsivity, risk-taking and hostility; in addition, a comorbidity with Major Depressive Disorder is identified by presenting symptoms such as depressed mood, anhedonia, low energy, feelings of worthlessness, recurrent thoughts of death and problems with eating and sleeping. The symptomatology presented by the patient generates an important psychological distress with suicidal risk.