Threats to Objectivity in Risk Assessment for Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder is unique in many ways from other diagnoses contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Most salient, however, are the negative connotations often associated with the label itself and the resulting bias of providers. The ways in which these biases manifest are especially problematic in violence risk assessment, wherein evaluators are tasked with systematic consideration of data, with most data coming from available records. In this article, we describe some of the ways in which bias and objectivity are encountered in risk assessment with this population, describe a relevant case example, and offer practical recommendations for evaluators.