Boundary and intimacy

Personal boundaries are essential for psychological stability. In psychopathology, they may be too porous, as in the case of borderline personalities, or too rigid, as in the case of narcissistic and paranoid personalities. A developmental model which could explain abnormal boundaries would postulate neglect producing porous boundaries, and intrusiveness producing rigid boundaries. Case material is presented in which patients with narcissistic personality traits had grown up with an intrusive, controlling mother, and without a father to provide a buffer. This led to an inability to tolerate intimacy in adult relationships. The transference of both patients reflected their extreme sensitivity to impingement on their boundaries. Such patients suffer from inner emptiness because of their inability to incorporate positive experiences.