Etiology and treatment of borderline personality disorder in adolescents

The author reviews the complicated history of the concept of borderline personality disorder and associated diagnostic entities, especially as these conditions relate to adolescents. He examines current theories about etiology of borderline personality disorder, primarily those related to object relations theory and genetic vulnerability to the disorder. Because patients with borderline disorders are such a heterogeneous group and often carry other diagnoses as well, the treatments used are highly diverse. The author reviews principles of psychotherapy with borderline patients, including the difficulties of the negative transference and the intense countertransference that occur; hospital treatment; and pharmacologic treatment, usually aimed at target symptoms.