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Summary: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a frequent disorder in in- and outpatient settings. However, empirical studies suggest that BPD lacks construct validity in adolescents. Problems with validity may be linked to the fact that borderline symptoms can occur in the course of normal adolescence. This study examined the factor structure of borderline symptomatology in a community-based sample of 616 adolescents (mean age = 16.9±1.5). Borderline symptomatology was assessed by the Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI), a self-report instrument for which reliability and validity have been demonstrated. An exploratory factorial analysis, which was performed on the first half of the sample, extracted six factors. They were the dissociative/psychotic symptoms factor, the substance use factor, the interpersonal instability factor, the affectivity/identity disturbances factor, the narcissistic features factor, and the impulsivity factor. This six- factor model was tested using a confirmatory factorial analysis on the second half of the sample and on the whole sample. It provided an adequate fit with the data. This factor structure captured central components of borderline symptomatology. As it differs from the one obtained in the study of the BPI in adults, these components may be specific to adolescents and reflect developmental issues rather than psychopathology.

The goal of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R; Zanarini, Gunderson, Franckenburg, & Chauncey, 1989) in a nonpatient sample of 118 adolescents. A principal components factor analysis with a Varimax rotation extracted three factors. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that this three-factor model provided an adequate fit. The first factor, which included depression, anxiety, helplessness/hopelessness, loneliness/emptiness, and also encompassed odd thinking/unusual perceptive experiences and quasi-psychotic experiences, appeared to be centered on painful feelings and dissociative defense. The second factor, labeled "impulsivity," consisted of impulse action patterns, counterdependency, and stormy relationships. This factor seemed to be centered on defensive acting-out. The third factor, called "aggressiveness," consisted of anger, hypomania, devaluation/manipulation/sadism, and demand/entitlement, and might express manic/narcissistic defenses. These analyses suggest that there may be homogeneous components of borderline symptomatology in adolescents that may reflect affective disturbances and defensive mechanisms.

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