Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:57-63
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
Cognitive features of borderline personality disorder
MC Zanarini, JG Gunderson and FR Frankenburg
Psychosocial Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02173.
Of 50 patients with borderline personality disorder, 100% reported
disturbed but nonpsychotic thought, 40% (N = 20) reported quasi- psychotic
thought, and none reported true psychotic thought during the past 2 years;
only 14% (N = 7) reported ever experiencing true psychotic thought.
Disturbed and quasi-psychotic thought was significantly more common among
these patients than among patients with other axis II disorders or
schizophrenia and normal control subjects; however, true psychotic thought
was significantly more common among schizophrenic patients. While disturbed
thought was also common among axis II disorder and schizophrenic patients,
quasi-psychotic thought was reported by only one of these subjects,
suggesting that quasi- psychotic thought may be a marker for borderline
personality disorder.
