If It Looks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck: Evaluating the Validity of Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents
Keywords:
borderline personality disorder, adolescents, validity, developmental psychopathologyAbstract
Background: The validity of borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been a topic of much controversy in psychiatry. Over the last two decades, a wealth of empirical work has challenged long-held concerns regarding the validity of adolescent BPD. However, this research has been conducted within a traditional approach to psychiatric nosology. Objective: In this article, we aim to evaluate the validity of adolescent BPD as guided by both the Robins and Guze criteria for the validity of psychiatric constructs and the new National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria (NIMH RDoC). Method: We used the five principles of the Robins and Guze approach to evaluate selected research from our own and other groups regarding the validity of adolescent BPD. These principles include clinical description studies, laboratory studies, studies that delimitate the disorder from other related syndromes, follow-up studies, and family studies. Results: Within the Robins and Guze criteria framework, evidence to date supports the validity of adolescent BPD to some extent. However, limitations of the research about the construct validity of adolescent BPD have also been identified, most notably regarding the delimitation of adolescent BPD from other disorders as well as a lack of longitudinal and family studies. Conclusions: Given these limitations and the limitations of the Robins and Guze approach to psychiatric nosology, we recommend exploring the potential of the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria as a complement to previous work.Downloads
Published
2015-05-13
How to Cite
Sharp, C., & Kalpakci, A. (2015). If It Looks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck: Evaluating the Validity of Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 3(1), 49–62. Retrieved from https://tidsskrift.dk/sjcapp/article/view/17572
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).