Age-related differences in individual DSM criteria for borderline personality disorder
Open accessAbstract
This study examined age-related effects of individual DSM criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and symptoms of depression and anxiety in three groups: patients diagnosed with BPD, another personality disorder, or no personality disorder. The goal was to determine if distinctive age effects emerged within the BPD group. This mixed clinical and community sample (N = 380) ranged from 20-50 years old. Each participant was assessed for symptoms of axis I and II psychopathology. We found significant interactions for personality disorder group x age for the suicidal behavior and impulsivity criteria that reflected distinctive changes in the BPD group. The BPD group reported significantly more anxious and depressive symptoms. However, no main effect for age or personality disorder x age interaction emerged with symptoms. These results demonstrate that older individuals with BPD report less impulsivity and fewer suicidal behaviors, although symptoms of distress persist.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
BPD traits are more pronounced in younger individuals, and symptom severity tends to decrease with age.
“Previous research has indicated that BPD traits are more pronounced in younger individuals, with the severity of symptoms tending to decrease with age (11, 12).”
From Age-related differences in borderline personality disorder traits and childhood maltreatment: a cross-sectional study (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
The Results (Effect of PD and Age on BPD Criteria) and Discussion report that impulsive and suicidal behaviors were less frequent in older adults with BPD. They do not establish a general decline in BPD symptom severity: the Discussion says depression and anxiety remained at similar levels across ages, and cautions that the cross-sectional findings may not reflect change within individuals. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Hamilton, M. (1960) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56 · Cited by 32,817 · see citing works
The assessment of anxiety states by rating
HAMILTON, M. (1959) · British Journal of Medical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1959.tb00467.x · Cited by 11,455 · see citing works
(1993) · Cited by 7,136 · see citing works
Kirk, J., & Miller, M. L. (1986) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781412985659.n2 · Cited by 1,376 · see citing works
Prediction of the 10-Year Course of Borderline Personality Disorder
Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Hennen, J. A., Reich, D. B., & Silk, K. R. (2006) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.2006.163.5.827 · Cited by 445 · see citing works
McGlashan, T. H., Grilo, C. M., Sanislow, C. A., Ralevski, E., Morey, L. C., Gunderson, J. G., Skodol, A. E., Shea, M. T., Zanarini, M. C., Bender, D. S., et al. (2005) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.162.5.883 · Cited by 415 · see citing works
The borderline diagnosis II: biology, genetics, and clinical course
Skodol, A. E., Siever, L. J., Livesley, W. J., Gunderson, J. G., PFOHL, B. M., & Widiger, T. A. (2002) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01325-2 · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Hennen, J., Reich, D. B., & Silk, K. R. (2005) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2005.19.5.505 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Long-Term Outcome in Personality Disorders
Stone, M. H. (1993) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.162.3.299 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
The Reliability and Validity of Two Structured Diagnostic Interviews for Personality Disorders
Pilkonis, P. A. (1995) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1995.03950240043009 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Temporal Change: The Third Dimension of Personality Disorder
Tyrer, P. J. (2005) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2005.19.5.573 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Wedig, M. M., Silverman, M. H., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., Fitzmaurice, G., & Zanarini, M. C. (2012) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291712000517 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Oltmanns, T. F., & Balsis, S. M. (2011) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-090310-120435 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Álvarez-Tomás, I., Ruiz, J., Guilera, G., & Bados, A. (2019) · European psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.10.010 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Personality disorder: Still the patients psychiatrists dislike?
Chartonas, D., Kyratsous, M., Dracass, S., Lee, T., & Bhui, K. S. (2017) · BJPsych Bulletin · doi:10.1192/pb.bp.115.052456 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Morgan, T. A., Chelminski, I., Young, D., Dalrymple, K. L., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2013) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.06.009 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Arens, E. A., Stopsack, M., Spitzer, C., Appel, K., Dudeck, M., Völzke, H., Grabe, H. J., & Barnow, S. (2013) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2013.27.2.196 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Conway, C., Hammen, C., & Brennan, P. (2012) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2012.26.5.793 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Borderline Personality Disorder in 3‐D: Dimensions, Symptoms, and Measurement Challenges
Trull, T. J., Tomko, R. L., Brown, W. C., & Scheiderer, E. M. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00312.x · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Missed diagnosis: The emerging crisis of borderline personality disorder in older people
Beatson, J. A., Broadbear, J. H., Sivakumaran, H., George, K., Kotler, E., Moss, F., & Rao, S. (2016) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0004867416640100 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Belli, H. (2012) · Journal of Clinical Medicine Research · doi:10.4021/jocmr1042w · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Personality Disorder Features Through the Life Course
Gutiérrez, F., Vall, G., Peri, J. M., Baillés, E., Ferraz, L., Gárriz, M., & Caseras, X. (2012) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi.2012.26.5.763 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Weizmann‐Henelius, G., Virkkunen, M. E., Gammelgård, M., Eronen, M., & Putkonen, H. (2015) · Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1049192 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Construct Validity of the DSM-5 Section III Maladaptive Trait Domains in Older Adults
Debast, I., Rossi, G. M. P., & van Alphen, S. P. J. (2017) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi_2017_31_274 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Kimmel, C. L., Alhassoon, O. M., Wollman, S. C., Stern, M. J., Perez-Figueroa, A. M., Hall, M. G., Rompogren, J., & Raduà, J. (2016) · Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.04.005 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Differential symptomatology and functioning in borderline personality disorder across age groups
Frías, Á., Palma, C., Solves, L., Martínez, B., & Salvador, A. (2017) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.09.081 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Conway, C., Boudreaux, M. J., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2018) · Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment · doi:10.1037/per0000281 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
The Application of an Etiological Model of Personality Disorders to Problem Gambling
Brown, M., Allen, J. S., & Dowling, N. A. (2014) · Journal of Gambling Studies · doi:10.1007/s10899-014-9504-z · Cited by 26 · see citing works
McMahon, K., Hoertel, N., Peyre, H., Blanco, C., Fang, C., & Limosin, F. (2019) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.12.019 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Trauma and dissociation among inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in Taiwan
Wu, Z. Y., Fung, H. W., Chien, W. T., Ross, C. A., & Lam, S. K. K. (2022) · European Journal of Psychotraumatology · doi:10.1080/20008066.2022.2105576 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Neacsiu, A. D., Eberle, J. W., Keng, S., Fang, C. M., & Rosenthal, M. Z. (2017) · Current Psychiatry Reviews · doi:10.2174/1573400513666170612122034 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Laddis, A. (2010) · Annals of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/1744-859x-9-19 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Bayes, A. J., & Parker, G. B. (2019) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.13133 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Rodante, D., Grendas, L. N., Puppo, S., Vidjen, P., Portela, A., Rojas, S. M., Chiapella, L. C., & Daray, F. M. (2019) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.13058 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Sex and age differences in symptoms in borderline personality symptomatology
Sansone, R. A., & Wiederman, M. W. (2013) · International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice · doi:10.3109/13651501.2013.865755 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Developing and Testing a Scale to Measure Need for Drama
Frankowski, S., Lupo, A. K., Smith, B. A., Dane’El, M., Ramos, C., & Morera, O. F. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.009 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Buerke, M. L., Galfalvy, H., Keilp, J. G., Sheftall, A. H., Burke, A. K., Bridge, J. A., Mann, J. J., & Szántó, K. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.014 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Martino, F., Gammino, L., Sanza, M., Berardi, D., Pacetti, M., Sanniti, A., Tangerini, G., & Menchetti, M. (2020) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000001204 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Galione, J. N., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2013) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.026 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Raimondi, G., Samela, T., Lester, D., Imperatori, C., Carlucci, L., Contardi, A., Balsamo, M., & Innamorati, M. (2021) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2021.1991362 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
The Relationship between Psychopathy and Age in a Non-Clinical Community Convenience Sample
Gill, D. J., & Crino, R. D. (2011) · Psychiatry Psychology and Law · doi:10.1080/13218719.2011.615810 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Choate, A. M., Gorey, C. M., Rappaport, L. M., Wiernik, B. M., & Bornovalova, M. A. (2021) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109011 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Marco, J. H., Jorquera, M., Fernández, I., Baños, R., & Guillén, V. (2019) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2359 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Fortaner-Uyà, L., Monopoli, C., Cavicchioli, M., Calesella, F., Colombo, F., Carretta, I., Talè, C., Benedetti, F., Visintini, R., Maffei, C., et al. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23763 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Co-use of medication and alcohol: The influence on subjective effects of intoxication and affect.
Helle, A. C., Wycoff, A. M., Griffin, S. A., Fleming, M. N., Freeman, L., Vebares, T. J., Rodriguez, E. M., Zapata, M. F., & Trull, T. J. (2021) · Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment · doi:10.1037/per0000480 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Borderline Personality Disorder
Chapman, A. L., Hope, N. H., & Turner, B. J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108333931.041 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Medication for Complex Posttraumatic Disorders
Laddis, A. (2011) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2011.596137 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Kröger, C. B., del Pozo, M. A., Kosfelder, J., Allroggen, M., Grabowski, G., & Legenbauer, T. (2017) · Diagnostica · doi:10.1026/0012-1924/a000184 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Borderline personality disorder in the elderly: brief review
Valdivieso-Jiménez, G. (2018) · MOJ Gerontology & Geriatrics · doi:10.15406/mojgg.2018.03.00153 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Lessons from the Natural Course of Complex Posttraumatic Disorders
Laddis, A. (2011) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2011.570197 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Li, G., Lin, Y., Xu, Y., Zhou, Y., Wei, Y., Xu, L., Tang, X., Wang, Z., Hu, Q., Wang, J., et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1454328 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Casellas‐Pujol, E., Soler, J., Schmidt, C., Soriano, J., & Pascual, J. C. (2024) · Personality and Mental Health · doi:10.1002/pmh.1614 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Belli, H., Ural, C., & Akbudak, M. (2012) · Dusunen Adam The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences · doi:10.5350/dajpn2013260108 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Darjee, R., & Davidson, K. M. (2010) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-7020-3137-3.00019-x · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ekiz, E., Videler, A. C., Ouwens, M. A., & van Alphen, S. P. J. (2025) · Clinical Gerontologist · doi:10.1080/07317115.2025.2506769 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Personality Disorder Features Through the Life Course
Gutiérrez, F., Vall, G., Peri, J. M., Baillés, E., Ferraz, L., Gárriz, M., & Caseras, X. (2012) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi_2012_26_032 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Borderline Personality Disorder: Contemporary Approaches to Conceptualization and Etiology
Trull, T. J., & Hepp, J. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780197542521.003.0028 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Suicide in the Second Half of Life: Cognition and Decision Processes
Szántó, K. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-09964-4_10 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Persoonlijkheidsstoornissen bij ouderen: Epidemiologische aspecten
Penders, K. A. P., Dierickx, S., Steenhaut, P., Dierckx, E., & Rossi, G. M. P. (2020) · Tijdschrift voor Gerontologie en Geriatrie · doi:10.36613/tgg.1875-6832/2020.02.02 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Jin, M. J., Lee, H.-J., Hwang, K.-S., Lee, J., Yang, C.-M., Jang, S.-H., & Lee, S.-Y. (2021) · Psychiatry Investigation · doi:10.30773/pi.2021.0164 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Liu, S. (2017) · Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ferraz, L. (2014) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
A Simple Algorithm for Medication of Patients with Complex Trauma-Related Disorder
Laddis, A. (2018) · Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma and Dissociation · doi:10.46716/ftpd.2018.0014
The Relationship Between Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depression in Later Life
Galione, J. N., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2012) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e3182657549
Rutter, L., Sharifi, J., & Bell, L. (2018) · FPOP Bulletin Psychology of Older People · doi:10.53841/bpsfpop.2018.1.141.60
Korkmaz, K. N. Ç., & Kumova, F. (2025) · Klinik Psikoloji Dergisi · doi:10.57127/kpd.26024438.1620355
Webb, E. L., Morris, D., Howkins, C., Webb, R., Higham, L., & Hamilton, A. (2026) · Advances in Autism · doi:10.1108/aia-06-2026-0082
- Authors
- Stepp, S. D., & Pilkonis, P. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality Disorders
- Publisher
- Guilford Publications
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 427-432
- ISSN
- 0885-579X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2819124
- OpenAlex
- W1986928310
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 2.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Personality Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (NIMH 44672, NIMH 56888)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH056888)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Keywords
- borderline personality disorder, age differences, DSM diagnostic criteria, suicidal behavior, impulsivity, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, personality disorders
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personality Assessment, Psychometrics, Severity of Illness Index, Suicide, Attempted, Comorbidity, Age Distribution
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
