Psychoanalysis.  2011 Apr;22(1):9-18.

Gender Difference in Clinical and Psychological Characteristics in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder at a University Hospital

• Mun BY
• Jeong JY
• Lee HR
• Song SH
• Lee JY
• Koo BH

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Previous studies on gender differences of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) were mainly to estimate prevalence rates and comorbidities in epidemiology. This study evaluated clinical and psychological characteristics, including defense mechanisms, between male and female patients with BPD in a clinical setting.
METHODS
We recruited 30 male and 35 female patients with BPD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 4th edition diagnostic criteria. We investigated the gender difference of Axis I comorbidities and characteristics of suicidal attempts, and retrospectively assessed psychological characteristics of patients with BPD using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Personality Disorder Questionnaire-4+, and the Defense Style Questionnaire.
RESULTS
Male patients showed amoreparanoid, socially introverted, and antisocial tendency compared to female patients. Female patients used splitting more frequently as the primary defense mechanism than male patients.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that the core psychopathologies of BPD are very similar between male and female patients in spite of some gender differences in clinical characteristics of BPD. Female patients are more likely to show a typical prototype of BPD than male.

Keyword

Borderline personality disorder; Sex difference; Defense mechanisms

MeSH Terms

Axis
Borderline Personality Disorder
Comorbidity
Defense Mechanisms
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
MMPI
Personality Disorders
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Sex Characteristics