Psychological dimensions of depression in borderline personality disorder

Objective: The authors' goal was to test empirically a commonly held assumption that the depression in borderline personality disorder is primarily anaclitic. Method: The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression were administered to 26 patients with borderline personality disorder (16 of whom were depressed) and 12 depressed patients without borderline personality disorder. Results: Patients with borderline personality disorder showed more self-criticism but did not endorse more anaclitic items than depressed patients without borderline personality disorder. Conclusions: These findings suggest that self-criticism is an underemphasized characteristic of depression in borderline personality disorder.