Assessing borderline personality disorder with self-report, clinical interview, or semistructured interview.

Overview

The authors compared three methods of assessing borderline personality disorders. Test-retest reliability for the self-report Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire was adequate and compared favorably with the interrater reliability of the DSM-III-oriented clinical interview and the semistructured research interview. The overall prevalence of personality disorders scored on the questionnaire was similar to that generated by the clinical interview. The specificity and sensitivity of the questionnaire for the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder were slightly higher than 60%, which suggests that it may be a useful and economical instrument for identifying patients with borderline personality disorder.