Object relations and social functioning of schizophrenic and borderline patients: a cross-sectional developmental...

Using a cross-sectional design, this study compared patients with schizophrenic and borderline personality disorders on measures of object relations and social functioning. Although we found that on measures of object relations the borderline group remained less impaired than the schizophrenics, during the course of the lifespan the schizophrenic patients appeared to surpass the borderlines on social functioning. These results are integrated with the literature that compares the long-term course and outcomes for these disorders and are discussed within the context of differential adaptive capacities, change mechanisms, and treatment interventions.