[Empirical findings on the personality structure of borderline patients].

In the present study the question of personality structure in borderline patients is studied empirically. The "Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines" of Gunderson and Kolb is used to classify the patients. In an inpatient sample of borderline patients (n = 26) the clinical diagnoses of personality structure according to psychoanalytic criteria are investigated and compared to those of an inpatient sample of patients with neurotic disorders (n = 24). According to the results most of the borderline patients (88%) had received a diagnosis of a schizoid personality structure according to psychoanalytic criteria, in contrast to the neurotic patients. The results are compared to those of studies using descriptive psychiatric criteria.