The DOI matches its Crossref record; 82 of the 82 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Comorbidity between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review
Abstract
Background: Traditionally, the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in subjects diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been the object of scant empirical research. The clarification of issues related to the different areas of study for this comorbidity is not only significant from a theoretical point of view but also relevant for clinical practice. The aim of this review is to describe the main theoretical findings and research conclusions about the comorbidity between PTSD and BPD. Methods: A literature review was carried out via PubMed and PsycINFO for the period between 1990 and September 2013. The descriptors used were ‘post-traumatic stress disorder', ‘borderline personality disorder', ‘PTSD', ‘complex PTSD' and ‘BPD'. Results: Epidemiological studies show that the risk of PTSD among BPD subjects is not regularly higher than in subjects with other personality disorders. Furthermore, there is no conclusive evidence about the main aetiopathogenic mechanism of this comorbidity, either of one disorder being a risk factor for the other one or of common underlying variables. Concerning comparative studies, several studies with PTSD-BPD subjects have found a higher severity of psychopathology and psychosocial impairment than in BPD subjects. With regard to nosological status, the main focus of controversy is the validation of ‘complex PTSD', a clinical entity which may comprise a subgroup of PTSD-BPD subjects. With regard to treatment, there are preliminary evidences for the efficient treatment of psychopathology in both PTSD and BPD. Conclusions: These findings are remarkable for furthering the understanding of the link between PTSD and BPD and their implications for treatment. The results of this review are discussed, including methodological constraints that hinder external validity and consistency of referred findings.
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In the citing paper
“30–70% of adults diagnosed with BPD had an episode of PTSD at some point in their lifetime [50]”
From Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [50]
In the citing paper
“PTSD and BPD often occur comorbidly.”
From Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [50]
In the citing paper
“In nationally representative samples in the United States, 25–30% of adults meeting criteria for either PTSD or BPD also met criteria for the other disorder”
From Complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [50]
Citations
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Snoek, A. (2024) · doi:10.5463/thesis.960
Implementing PE with Comorbid Disorders
Klein, A. B., Hicks, T. A., Back, S. E., & Norman, S. B. (2024) · CBT: science into practice · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72720-7_8
Salavati, M., & Selby, E. A. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-75503-3_13
Kamstra, A. C., de Vries, S. O., Brilman, M. F., Vasilev, P., Alma, M., van Asselt, A. D. I., Wolf, M., Schoevers, R. A., & Jörg, F. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1538267 · Cited by 2
Wesseling, G., Nispeling, E., Tholel, J., Teunissen, S., & Thomaes, K. (2025) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008066.2025.2568266
O’Donnell, M., & Links, P. S. (2025) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-025-07679-2
Roebuck, G., Parkin, G. M., O'Donnell, M. L., Khanna, R., Forbes, D., Lau, W., Serpell, S., Al-Azzawi, H., Santamaria, E., Mohebbi, M., et al. (2026) · BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies · doi:10.1186/s12906-026-05312-7
Samonek, K., Basol, E. Z., Estrada, S., Davydovska, T., Funaro, M. C., & Harpaz‐Rotem, I. (2026) · Chronic Stress · doi:10.1177/24705470261427216
Psychopathologie d'une cohorte de jeunes borderline ayant une comorbidité addictive
Shadili, G. (2022) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/be8ae564z9e99z481bz9783zcccab1b70081
Soler, J., Elices, M., Canosa, I., Schmidt, C., Lupo, W., Valiente-Gómez, A., Amann, B. L., Pérez, V., & Pascual, J. C. (2026) · Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation · doi:10.1186/s40479-026-00351-5
Fuchshuber, J., Kessler, H., Kehyayan, A., Pape, M., Hofmann, T., Rose, M., Imbierowicz, K., Geiser, F., Bierling, A. L., Weidner, K., et al. (2026) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008066.2026.2677274
Enning, F., Bohus, M., Priebe, K., Steil, R., Görg, N., Müller‐Engelmann, M., Roth, M., Schmahl, C. G., & Kleindienst, N. (2026) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2026.08.017
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Behandlung der Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung bei komorbiden psychischen Störungen
Schäfer, I., Büttner, M., Chuey-Ferrer, L., Köllner, V., Lotzin, A., Reddemann, O., & Schalinski, I. (2026) · Trauma und Gewalt · doi:10.21706/tg-20-4-312
Metadata
- Authors
- Frías, Á., & Palma, C.
- Affiliations
- Universitat Ramon Llull (ES)
- ORCID
- Frías, Álvaro
- Venue
- Psychopathology
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2014-09-09
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-10
- ISSN
- 0254-4962 (ISSN-L)
- 1423-033X
- OpenAlex
- W2068470537
- Cited by
- 114
- References
- 82
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, comorbidities, complex PTSD, psychopathology severity, psychosocial impairment
- MeSH terms
- Borderline Personality Disorder, Humans, Risk Factors, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
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