Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is highly stigmatized. Although person-first labels are now used for most mental illnesses (e.g., a person with schizophrenia) rather than premodified noun labels (e.g., "he is a schizophrenic"), it is still common to hear people referred to as "borderlines." In a series of two experimental studies, we examined how diagnostic labels influence negative attitudes about BPD. In Study 1, we presented vignettes with no diagnostic label, a person-first label, or a premodified noun label and compared BPD vignettes to schizophrenia vignettes. In Study 2, we again examined the influence of diagnostic label on attitudes about BPD and manipulated the gender depicted in the BPD vignettes. In Study 1, negative attitudes related to anger and blame were greater for BPD than schizophrenia. Diagnosis and label construction did not interact. In Study 2, we found little evidence of gender effects, except that male characters with BPD were considered more dangerous and evoked more fear, while female characters were viewed with greater pity. Gender and label construction did not interact. Although we expected that attitudes would be most negative in the premodified noun label condition and least negative in the person-first condition, this was not the case. In both Studies 1 and 2, the condition with no diagnostic label produced the greatest negative attitudes in some but not all stigma domains, while person-first and premodified noun labels did not differ. Results suggest that in some contexts, diagnostic labels reduce negative attitudes about BPD regardless of their specific construction.
BackgroundSymptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occur. Recent evidence supports the concomitant treatment of BPD and PTSD.MethodsThis study uses a longitudinal cross-lagged panel model to examine BPD and PTSD symptom response in a sample of 110 women undergoing residential treatment for BPD. The naturalistic treatment primarily followed a dialectical-behavior therapy protocol, with individualized integration of other major evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for BPD, including mentalization-based treatment, good psychiatric management, and transference-focused psychotherapy.ResultsA residentially-based integration of treatment approaches resulted in significant reductions in BPD (d = 0.71) and PTSD (d = 0.75) symptoms. Moreover, changes in BPD symptoms prospectively predicted changes in PTSD symptoms (constrained path b = 1.73), but the reverse was not true (constrained path b = 0.05).ConclusionsA naturalistic integration of EBTs for BPD may benefit both BPD and PTSD symptoms even in the absence of PTSD-oriented intervention. Additionally, the attenuation of BPD symptoms may have positive impact on PTSD symptoms.
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