Substance use in borderline personality disorder

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 diagnosis. 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 subgroup of borderline patients for whom substance use plays a primary role in the development of borderline psychopathology.