This study examined how patients with borderline personality disorder(BPD) differ from patients with depression and from normals in MMPI-2 characteristics and in defense mechanisms. Using MMPI-2 and DSQ tests, data from 43 BPD patients, 42 depression ...
This study examined how patients with borderline personality disorder(BPD) differ from patients with depression and from normals in MMPI-2 characteristics and in defense mechanisms. Using MMPI-2 and DSQ tests, data from 43 BPD patients, 42 depression patients, and 43 normals were analyzed. As results of the analysis for MMPI-2 data, three groups were significantly different from each other in all validity scales except VRIN and TRIN, and in all clinical scales except Mf. Especially, BPD showed significantly higher scores on the F, Fb, Fp, Pd, Pa, Sc, Ma scales than the other two groups. Also, The profile of three groups was built around the means of each group of validity scales and clinical scales. Through MMPI-2 profile style, we assume that BPD patients experience more physical, emotional, and adaptive problems than depression patients. We also guess that they are more impulsive and instability than depression patients and there is quite a possibility that they will experience a severe pathological symptom such as psychotic disorganization. BPD patients showed significantly higher scores at most of MMPI-2 subscales as well as validity and clinical scales than other two groups. A discriminant function analysis was carried out to determine whether MMPI-2 clinical scale and other subscale can successfully distinguish BPD patients from depression patients, and to identify subscale indices which might be useful for the discrimination. As results, clinical scales showed higher classification accuracy than other subscales, and Ma scale was the most sensitive one. Taken together, it is suggested that impulsive, aggressive, critical, hostile characteristics, lacks of self-control, and hyperactivity are the critical characteristics in distinguishing BPD patients from depression patients. As results of the analysis for DSQ data in order to compare defense mechanism styles, BPD patients showed significantly higher scores in maladaptive and image-distorting style, and in defense mechanism's projection, affiliation and somatization than the other two groups. These results suggest that differential therapeutic approach should be applied to each patient group. But this study is limited in terms of comorbid diagnosis problems of BPD patients, measuring problems resulted from MMPI-2 and DSQ self-reported test which we used in this study, and a lack of researches which have been done in the real clinical testing within our country. Follow-up studies are needed to compare BPD patients with bipolar disorder or schizophreniform disorder or other personality disorder patients. Also, subscales of MMPI-2 would provide more various and detailed explanation on BPD and other disorders, further research is needed by utilizing these.