Disrupted continuity in borderline personality disorder: a systematic assessment of temporal experience.

BACKGROUND

Phenomenological literature describes borderline personality disorder (BPD) as marked by instantaneous and immediate temporal experience. Meanwhile, qualitative clinical findings suggest that BPD lived experience is dominated by a negatively biased, disorganised past and an overintense present, yet systematic research remains limited.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study, with 52 inpatients diagnosed with BPD compared to a healthy control group (N = 98). To examine temporal experience in individuals with BPD quantitatively, this study uses the Transdiagnostic Assessment of Temporal Experience (TATE), a novel, structured, phenomenological interview tool. Data were analysed using factor analysis to identify underlying temporal constructs; group differences were tested using Mann-Whitney U tests. The interpretative framework is phenomenological psychopathology.

RESULTS

The most pronounced features in the BPD group included past-negative intrusions, flashbacks, a sense of present paralysis, and anxiety about the future. The BPD group scored overall higher than controls (p < 0.001), and, in particular, significantly higher in the dimensions related to explicit anomalous experiences of the past, present, and future. The temporal disturbances were also felt as more intense, regardless of the actual scores. Crucially, one reliable factor emerged, indicating an underlying structure of disrupted temporal continuity, in line with the existing theory of phenomenological psychopathology.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that temporal fragmentation – especially in the form of past-negative intrusions and flashbacks – may be a core feature of BPD lived experience and relevant for future diagnostic and therapeutic frameworks. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.