Assessing borderline personality disorder with self-report, clinical interview, or semistructured interview

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychological Assessment
• Mental Health

Background:

• Borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis relies on clinical assessment.
• Evaluating the efficacy of different diagnostic tools is crucial for accurate BPD identification.
• Self-report questionnaires offer a potentially accessible method for BPD screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the reliability and validity of three methods for assessing borderline personality disorder.
• To evaluate the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ) against clinical interview methods.
• To determine the utility of the PDQ as an economical tool for BPD assessment.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of test-retest reliability for the self-report PDQ.
• Assessment of interrater reliability for DSM-III-oriented clinical interview and semistructured research interview.
• Evaluation of overall prevalence, sensitivity, and specificity of the PDQ for BPD diagnosis.

Main Results:

• The PDQ demonstrated adequate test-retest reliability, comparable to clinical interview interrater reliability.
• Overall personality disorder prevalence from the PDQ aligned with clinical interview findings.
• The PDQ exhibited sensitivity and specificity slightly exceeding 60% for BPD diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire is a reliable instrument for assessing borderline personality disorder.
• The PDQ's performance suggests it is a useful and economical tool for identifying BPD.
• Further research may validate the PDQ's role in routine clinical practice for BPD assessment.