Social consequences of borderline personality disorder symptoms in a population-based survey: marital distress, marital violence, and marital disruption.

Associations between borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms and marital distress, perpetration of marital violence, and marital dissolution were evaluated in a population-based sample of married adults. The incremental association between BPD symptom severity and marital outcomes was also examined, controlling for the presence of Axis I disorders. Respondents from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) who had been married at least once completed measures of BPD symptoms and provided information about their marital histories; a subset of participants completed measures of marital distress and marital violence. BPD symptom severity was positively associated with marital distress, perpetration of minor and severe marital violence, and marital disruption. Associations remained significant when controlling for presence of 12-month Axis I disorders. These findings underscore the importance of examining adverse social consequences of BPD.