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Borderline attributions.

Robert J Gregory1

  • 1SUNY Upstate Medical University, Department of Psychiatry, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. gregoryr@upstate.edu

American Journal of Psychotherapy
|September 1, 2007
PubMed
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Borderline personality disorder involves self-structure pathology. This study explores how polarized attributions create discrete self-states, suggesting treatments to foster an integrated self.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychoanalytic Theory

Background:

  • Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is defined by identity disturbance and self-structure pathology.
  • Individuals with BPD often struggle with meaning-making, ambiguity, and idealization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore how deconstruction philosophy and object relations theory can explain BPD.
  • To propose a model of self-structure formation in BPD through binary attributions.
  • To identify common self-states and suggest therapeutic interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis integrating deconstruction philosophy and object relations theory.
  • Examination of how polarized attributions shape self-experience in BPD.
  • Delineation of four distinct self-states observed in BPD.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Binary attributions of value, agency, and motivation lead to discrete, self-perpetuating self-structures.
  • Four common states identified: helpless victim, guilty perpetrator, angry victim, and demigod perpetrator.
  • These states involve stereotyped expectations and self-perpetuating relational patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding these binary attributions is key to deconstructing BPD self-states.
  • Treatment should focus on dismantling these polarized states.
  • Facilitating the development of an integrated and differentiated self is the therapeutic goal.