Interpersonal and emotional experiences of social interactions in borderline personality disorder

GENERAL AIM: We examined interpersonal experiences of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) using a time-contingent diary procedure to collect information about social interactions for 7 days.

We examined the (1) quantity of social interactions and (2) interpersonal and emotional experiences during social interactions for patients with BPD (BPD; N = 42) compared with those with another personality disorder (OPD; N = 46) and those without significant personality pathology (NOPD; N = 23).

Results suggested that BPD patients have fewer social contacts compared with those in the NOPD group. Additionally, the BPD patients characterized their social interactions as more disagreeable, ambivalent, angry, empty, and sad compared with the OPD and NOPD groups. BPD patients reported experiencing more anxiety and less positive affect compared with the NOPD but not the OPD group.

These findings highlight aspects of day-to-day interpersonal functioning that are specific to BPD.