RISK-FACTORS FOR SELF-DAMAGING ACTS IN A BORDERLINE POPULATION

The authors studied 42 hospitalized female borderline patients in terms of level of depression, interpersonal relations, and concurrent DSM Axis II diagnoses in an effort to identify risk factors for self-destructive behavior. A poor quality of interpersonal relations characterized the patients who had a history of serious self-destructiveness. This finding points to the need for clinicians treating of this patient population to evaluate and to address problems in interpersonal relations in order to reduce the risk of self-destructive behavior.