Am J Psychiatry 1989; 146:1115-1120
Copyright © 1989 by American Psychiatric Association
Oscillations of attachment in borderline personality disorder
FT Melges and MS Swartz
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
The authors propose that oscillations of attachment in borderline
personality disorder stem from a central problem with regulation of
interpersonal distance. This problem derives from borderline patients'
conflicts between fears of abandonment and domination. When they move
closer to others, they fear that they will be dominated; when they move
away, they fear that they will be abandoned. Whichever direction they move,
they experience negative feedback. This gives rise to recurrent
oscillations between attachment to and detachment from others. Because the
oscillations are reinforced by the ambivalent reactions of significant
others and the involvement of third parties, family therapy is often
indicated.
