Demography of psychiatric patients with borderline personality traits

This study was designed to identify the intensity of borderline personality traits in a large sample of psychiatric inpatients (n = 4,800) and to determine the relationship between the borderline traits and a variety of demographic variables. Results indicated the intensity of borderline pathology increased in (1) students or the unemployed, (2) married and separated patients, (3) patients with a criminal record, (4) atheists, and (5) patients from a broken home. It lessened with increasing age of the patient. There was no relation between race or level of education and intensity of borderline traits. Findings are discussed in terms of previous empirical studies and the existent theoretical literature.