Two Reviews of the Literature on Borderlines: An Assessment*

The author discusses Iiebowitz's (1979) and Rieder's (1979) reviews of current issues regarding the diagnosis of borderline patients. He cites the need for further research examining the basic characteristics of the borderline syndrome. He also recommends that greater attention be directed toward defining subtypes of the syndrome. The author believes that a combination of the descriptive approach of Gunderson and Kolb (1978) and his own psychostructural approach (Kernberg 1977) would prove fruitful. Both Liebowitz (1979) and Rieder (1979) provide a review of some relevant recent literature and then offer their opinions on current issues regarding the diagnosis of borderline patients. Rieder's article takes up only one aspect of this subject, and I will return to it after considering Liebowitz's more extensive contributions.