Subtypes of borderline personality disorder, associated clinical disorders and stressful life‐events: A latent class analysis based on the British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

OBJECTIVES: The current study examined the types of borderline personality profiles, associated psychological disorders and stressful life-events. DESIGN: Data from the British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey were used to examine homogeneous subtypes of participants based on their responses to nine borderline personality disorder (BPD) criteria. METHODS: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify homogeneous groups, or classes, of individuals. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between classes and associated psychological disorders and stressful life-events. RESULTS: A 4-class solution provided the best fit, ranging from a class with a low probability of showing any BPD symptoms to a class whose members had a relatively high probability of endorsing all criteria. Severity of BPD was associated with higher co-morbidity and higher stressful life-events. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that four discrete classes make up the borderline continuum.