| Abstract: | Findings indicate that bulimics with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may represent a distinct subgroup, with extreme psychopathology and unique treatment needs. However, since mood disturbances can produce “borderline” manifestations, findings from available borderline/nonborderline comparisons in bulimic samples could confound features associated with personality disorder (PD) with those associated with mood disturbance. We compared psychiatric and personality features in 91 bulimics, divided (using DSM-III-R criteria) into those with BPD, Other PDs, or No PD. In direct comparisons, cases meeting “border-line” criteria seemed broadly more disturbed than did cases with other Axis-II comorbidity patterns. However, when variance attributable to depression was accounted for, greater psychopathology in “borderlines” became restricted to focal dimensions, predictably characterizing a “hostile-impulsive” phenotype. While “borderlines” displayed higher prevalences of certain Axis-l syndromes than did “nonborderlines”, results did not indicate distinct patterns of comorbidity, on Axis I, across groups. Overall, findings suggested that comorbidity on Axis-ll may predict different degrees of disturbance, rather than fundamental differences as to areas in which disturbance will occur. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
