Borderline Personality Disorder

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the mental illness from the perspectives of Karen Horney and Sigmund Freud, two of the more known psychological theorists. The paper explains that borderline personality disorder is characterized by a depressed mood, certain addictions and a dramatic or erratic antisocial personality. The paper shows how the theories of Horney and Freud present two very different views of personality disorders. The paper maintains that by combining these theories of personalities and behaviors, researchers and psychologists are better able to understand and treat borderline personality disorders on an individualized basis.

From the Paper:

"Personality disorders affect ten to fifteen percent of the population of the United States (Bienenfeld, 2005). As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (APA DSM-IV), personality disorders are signified by an enduring pattern of behavior that is different than that which is expected by society and that is pervasive and distressful or impairing (APA DSM-IV, 1994). Of the ten personality disorders currently recognized by the DSM-IV, borderline personality is perhaps one of the most overused in diagnosis, affecting nearly two percent of the U.S. population, with more than three times as many cases among women as in men."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allen, B.P. (2006). Personality theories: development, growth, and diversity, fifth edition. Chicago: Allyn & Bacon.
• American Psychiatric Association. (1952). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, first edition. Washington, DC: APA.
• American Psychiatric Association. (1968). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, second edition. Washington, DC: APA.
• American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition. Washington, DC: APA.
• American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition, revised. Washington, DC: APA.

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• Research Paper # 105004 : "Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)"

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