An empirical examination of three models of the interpersonal functioning of patients with borderline personality disorder.

This study examined three empirically based models of the interpersonal functioning of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Samples of 77 patients with BPD and 81 patients with other personality disorders (PDs) were used to test models suggested by Diguer and colleagues (2001), Ruiz, Pincus, and Bedics (1999), and Stern, Herron, Primavera, and Kakuma (1997). The clusters and standard categories of the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme Method (CCRT) were used to investigate the participants' interpersonal functioning. Results indicated that two of the three models showed an overall difference between patients with BPD and those with other PDs, whereby patients with BPD felt more anxious and ashamed. None of the models tested showed differences between the two groups on the CCRT standard categories.