The Occurrence of Borderline Personality Disorder in the Families of Borderline Patients

This paper reports on the morbid risk of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in first-degree relatives of BPD patients using direct and indirect family data. From data obtained on 320 family members, the morbid risk for BPD was found to be 15.3%. Concomitant diagnoses were frequently present in the relatives with BPD, and the sex ratio of male to female relatives with BPD was 1:1.2. The evidence suggests that there is an increased prevalence of BPD in the first-degree family members of borderline patients.