Unemployment and the Relationship between Borderline Personality Pathology and Health

Evidence suggests that employment may buffer against the negative health outcomes associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The purpose of the current analyses was to examine unemployment and the BPD-health relationship prospectively. Participants were 1,536 older adults in a longitudinal study of health and aging, with repeated measures of physical health, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. We measured BPD features using multiple sources at baseline, and used principal components analysis to obtain latent scores. Multilevel models indicated that unemployment experiences did not moderate the prospective relationship between BPD features and physical health or life satisfaction, but did strengthen the positive relationship between BPD features and depressive symptoms. These findings provide insight into mechanisms of recovery for individuals with BPD.