This review of the descriptive literature on borderline patients
indicates that accounts of such patients vary depending upon who is
describing them, in what context, how the samples are selected, and what
data are collected. The authors identify six features that provide a
rational means for diagnosing borderline patients during an initial
interview: the presence of intense affect, usually depressive or hostile; a
history of impulsive behavior; a certain social adaptiveness; brief
psychotic experiences; loose thinking in unstructured situations; and
relationships that vacillate between transient superficiality and intense
dependency. Reliable identification of these patients will permit better
treatment planning and clinical research.Abstract Teaser