Dysfunctional Beliefs and Psychopathology in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

This study examined the factor structure of the Borderline Personality Disorder subscale of the Personality Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ-BPD; Butler, Brown, Beck, & Grisham, 2002), and the relationships between the emergent factors and psychopathology. The sample comprised 184 patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors relating respectively to dependency, distrust, and the belief that one should act preemptively to avoid threat. Although the three factors were significantly associated with depression, only dependency and distrust significantly correlated with hopelessness. Distrust was the sole factor that correlated significantly with suicide ideation. These findings support the dimensional structure of the PBQ-BPD. Given its multidimensional structure, the scale can be used as a measure of belief profiles associated with BPD and as an aid to conceptualizing beliefs underlying a range of psychopathology associated with patients with BPD.