Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Transitional objects and borderline personality disorder

W Cardasis¹, J A Hochman, K R Silk

¹Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 48109-0704, USA.

The American Journal of Psychiatry

|February 1, 1997

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

A preliminary report of short-term cognitive-behavioral group therapy for inpatients with personality disorders.

The Journal of psychotherapy practice and research·2012

Same author

Axis II comorbidity of borderline personality disorder: description of 6-year course and prediction to time-to-remission.

Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica·2004

Same author

Mucolipidosis II (I-cell disease) presenting as neonatal cholestasis.

Journal of inherited metabolic disease·2002

Same author

Predictors of psychosocial outcomes for patients with mood disorders: the effects of self-help group participation.

Psychiatric rehabilitation journal·2001

Same author

Psychiatrists' referrals to self-help groups for people with mood disorders.

Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)·2000

Same author

Borderline personality disorder. Overview of biologic factors.

The Psychiatric clinics of North America·2000

Same journal

2026 Annual Meeting: President-Elect Address.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

Same journal

2026 Annual Meeting: CEO and Medical Director's Address.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

Same journal

Reports to the Membership.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

Same journal

Convergent Metabolic Dysregulations But Divergent Contributing Pathways Across Severe Mental Disorders: The Power of Combining Genetics and Metabolomics.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

Same journal

2026 Annual Meeting: Presidential Address.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

Same journal

Represcribing Previously Used Antipsychotics: Response to So.

The American journal of psychiatry·2026

See all related articles

Patients with borderline personality disorder are more likely to bring transitional objects to the hospital. While not a definitive diagnostic tool, these objects may offer comfort and insight into treatment.

Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Psychology

Background:

Transitional objects, often used in childhood, may persist into adulthood.
Their presence in psychiatric inpatients has not been extensively studied in relation to specific diagnoses.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the association between possessing transitional objects and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD).
To hypothesize that inpatients with BPD are more likely to bring objects of special meaning to the hospital.

Main Methods:

A semistructured interview was conducted with 146 psychiatric inpatients.
The presence of transitional objects (in hospital, home, or childhood) was assessed.
Borderline personality disorder diagnosis was confirmed using DSM-III-R criteria and discharge diagnoses.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

A significantly higher proportion of patients with transitional objects (in hospital or at home) received a borderline personality disorder diagnosis.
Specificity and negative predictive power of transitional objects for BPD were higher than sensitivity and positive predictive power.
Adult transitional object possession had 63% sensitivity and 45% positive predictive power for BPD.

Conclusions:

Bringing a transitional object to the hospital may aid BPD inpatients by providing comfort and reminders of home.
The persistence of transitional objects into adulthood can offer therapists insights into potential transference dynamics during treatment.