Borderline Personality Features and Treatment Outcomes in an Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Treatment Population
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Content Notes
Abstract
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a common psychiatric disorder associated with severe functional impairment, high rates of suicide, comorbid mental disorders, frequent utilization of mental health treatment, and therefore, high cost to society in both adults and adolescents. Although treatments have been developed to treat BPD in adults, little is known about the effectiveness of treatments in adolescents, in particular in an intensive outpatient setting. The current study examined differences in clinical characteristics among adolescents with and without borderline features who participated in an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for suicidal behaviors. In addition, this study examined whether borderline features predicted treatment outcomes at discharge. Fifty-eight participants, ages 13-17 (14.98±1.15), were categorized into adolescents with BPD features and those without. Assessments include the Concise Health Risk Tracking form (CHRT; self-report), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS; clinician-rated), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology- Adolescent version (QIDS-A; self-report), and the 11-item Borderline Personality Features scale for Children (BPFSC-11; self-report). Statistical analyses include chi-square and ANOVA for demographic and clinical characteristics. Spearman's correlations and a hierarchical linear regression were used to examine treatment outcomes. Results indicate that adolescents with BPD features presented to treatment with more severe depression and suicide risk than adolescents without BPD features. Following IOP treatment, adolescents with BPD features continued to endorse more severe depressive symptoms than those without BPD features. However, there was no statistical difference between groups in regards to suicidality. The presence of BPD features did not predict depression severity at discharge, but the relationship appeared to be trending.