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Borderline personality disorder: The voice of patients
Author(s) -
Nehls Nadine
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-240x(199908)22:4<285::aid-nur3>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - borderline personality disorder , psychology , personality , prejudice (legal term) , safeguarding , psychiatry , mental health , clinical psychology , personality disorders , medicine , social psychology , nursing
The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to generate knowledge about the experience of living with the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Persons identified as meeting DSM‐III‐R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) or DSM‐IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for borderline personality disorder were invited to participate in a private interview focusing on what it means to live with the diagnosis. The data were analyzed using the procedures of interpretive phenomenological data analysis (Benner, 1994; Diekelmann, Allen, & Tanner, 1989). Three themes were identified: (a) living with a label, (b) living with self‐destructive behavior perceived as manipulation, and (c) living with limited access to care. The findings suggest that mental health care for persons with borderline personality disorder could be improved by confronting prejudice, understanding self‐harm, and safeguarding opportunities for dialogue. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 22:285–293, 1999