Substance use in borderline personality disorder

Abstract

The authors investigated the prevalence of substance abuse in 137 inpatients with DSM-III borderline personality disorder. Ninety-two (67%) of these patients were given DSM-III substance use disorder diagnoses. The most frequently used substances were alcohol and sedative-hypnotics. When substance abuse was not used as a diagnostic criterion for borderline personality disorder, 32 (23%) of the 137 patients no longer met borderline criteria. These patients differed significantly from the rest of the patients in severity and course of illness. These data suggest that there might be a subroup of borderline patients for whom substance use plays a primary role in the development of borderline psychopathology.