Borderline Personality Disorder
How Common Is It?
Studies of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in the general population have found that 1
to 2% are
affected. The prevalence of BPD was unrelated to gender in these studies.
As with all personality disorders, BPD is much more frequent in younger
persons. In studies of psychiatric patients the prevalence of BPD is much
higher (10 to 15%).
Sometimes BPD is a life-threatening disorder. Suicide is the eighth
leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than
30,000 deaths per year. Among teenagers, suicide is the third leading
cause of death. It is estimated that about 10% of patients with BPD end
their lives by suicide.
Causes
As with most other psychiatric disorders, both genetic and
environmental factors contribute to the cause of BPD. A large amount of
research indicates that personality dispositions are inherited to a
significant degree. The most dramatic research in this area are the
studies of identical twins who were adopted separately at birth, raised in
different households and then found to have similar personality traits
when studied as adults. One can imagine that there might be a
biologic/genetic predisposition to have intense emotions that are
difficult to control.
However, genetics alone do not explain BPD. A separate body of research
shows that the vast majority of patients with BPD were abused as children.
Childhood is the time to learn to cope and manage intense emotional
changes. In fact, most children display some characteristics similar to
those of BPD. For example, children will frequently tell a parent one
minute that they hate them and then the next minute say they love them. Or
their best friend might be hated at times. Children act impulsively.
Children are moody, sometimes going from anger to tears to laughter within
a half-hour. Children have bad tempers.
One of the most important goals of
parenthood is to teach children how to manage and regulate their intensely
felt emotions. Children who are abused often do not learn these lessons,
thus they are more likely to have difficulty regulating their emotions as
adults.
Diagnosing BPD 
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