Borderline Personality Disorders - Research Paper Example

Often patients who are difficult are labeled with the disorder without fully exploring all other possible explanations for behavior (Wirth, 2001). While it is considered one of the most often diagnosed conditions in the clinical setting with 10% of the population suffering from the disorder, one of the problems in asserting a defined prevalence of the disorder is that often it is associated with addictive behaviors or misdiagnosed (Swift 2010). There are three primary theories that guide the treatment of borderline personality disorder.

Clinicians look to biological, cognitive-behavioral, and psychodynamic causes in order to approach an effective course of treatment (Gunderson and Links, 2008). In the assessment of behavior disorders, finding a cause can be an illusive prospect. One of the predominant issues with the disorder is the overwhelming feminization of the condition, the diagnosis being one of the first areas of concern when treating a female patient. The relationship that women have with their social environment is a primary concern in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. . The disorder can define the future of those who suffer from its effects with a series of unstable and unsuccessful relationships.

Self-destructive behaviors will also be common creating an inability to find success and move forward into a stable and secure life. The criteria for diagnosis will appear in early adulthood marked by a variety of effects within variations of context. The primary diagnostic criteria include emotional instability, inappropriate or intense anger, self-destructive acts, impulsivity, unstable relationships, identity disturbance, and chronic feelings of emptiness or boredom (Wirth-Cauchon, 2001). These basic criteria is further defined by a list of contexts from which a refined diagnosis can be assessed (see Appendix 1).

The condition has the highest prevalence amongst women, one of the primary causes appearing to be sexual abuse in childhood with a variety of effects then manifesting as a result later in adulthood. As well, other forms of abuse such as neglect, emotional abuse, or physical abuse have appeared as precursors to the development of the disorder. In a study that compared other patients to BPD patients, 71% had suffered traumas of physical abuse while 68% had suffered sexual abuse, while 62% had witnessed serious domestic violence (Wirth-Cauchon, 2001, p. 66). The most common comorbidity associated with BPD is that of substance abuse.

However, according to Lee, Bagge, Schumacher, and Coffey (2010), the effects of BPD are no higher or lower in substance abusers as they are in non-substance abusing patients. Therefore, the substance abuse seems to be a part of the of the self-destructive behavior rather than a