Approaches to the Diagnosis of Borderline Conditions by Use of Psychological Tests

The use of psychological tests in the diagnosis of borderline conditions by application of five approaches to the test battery is illustrated on a patient who was diagnosed as borderline by the criteria of both Gunderson and Kernberg. These approaches in terms of (a) structural variables, (b) response to confrontation, (c) severity of illness, (d) symptom diagnosis, and (e) differential response to tests of varying structure, may be used to strengthen each other and to facilitate the diagnosis of borderline patients.