OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to test empirically a commonly held
assumption that the depression in borderline personality disorder is
primarily anaclitic. METHOD: The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire and
the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression were administered to 26 patients
with borderline personality disorder (16 of whom were depressed) and 12
depressed patients without borderline personality disorder. RESULTS:
Patients with borderline personality disorder showed more self-criticism
but did not endorse more anaclitic items than depressed patients without
borderline personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that
self-criticism is an underemphasized characteristic of depression in
borderline personality disorder.
Abstract Teaser