The course of marriage/sustained cohabitation and parenthood among borderline patients followed prospectively for 16 years.

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of marriage/sustained cohabitation and parenthood reported by recovered and nonrecovered borderline patients, the age first undertaken, and the stability of these relationships. Borderline patients were interviewed about these topics during their index admission and eight times over 16 years of prospective follow-up. Recovered borderline patients were significantly more likely than nonrecovered borderline patients to have married/lived with an intimate partner and to have become a parent. In addition, they first married/cohabited and became a parent at a significantly older age. They were also significantly less likely to have been divorced or ended a cohabiting relationship. In addition, they were significantly less likely to have given up or lost custody of a child. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that stable functioning as a spouse/partner and as a parent are strongly associated with recovery status for borderline patients.