Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD): A Network Analysis in a Highly Traumatized Clinical Sample

Marcin Owczarek, Thanos Karatzias, Eoin McElroy, Philip Hyland, Marylène Cloitre, Leonhard Kratzer, Matthias Knefel, Graeme Grandison, Grace W. K. Ho, Deborah Morris, Mark Shevlin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Whether complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnoses differ substantially enough to warrant separate diagnostic classifications has been a subject of controversy for years. To contribute to the nomological network of cumulative evidence, the main goal of the present study was to explore, using network analysis, how the symptoms of ICD-11 PTSD and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) are interconnected with BPD in a clinical sample of polytraumatized individuals (N = 330). Participants completed measures of life events, CPTSD, and BPD. Overall, our study suggests that BPD and CPTSD are largely separated. The bridges between BPD and CPTSD symptom clusters were scarce, with “Affective Dysregulation” items being the only items related to BPD. The present study contributes to the growing literature on discriminant validity of CPTSD and supports its distinctiveness from BPD. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)112-129
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Personality Disorders
Volume37
Issue number1
Early online date1 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 28 Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Guilford Press.

Keywords

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Clinical Psychology
  • PTSD
  • trauma
  • BPD
  • CPTSD
  • network

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