People with borderline personality disorder can quickly change interests and values. Most things are viewed in extremes of being all good or all bad. The condition can be misdiagnosed as another mood disorder because some of the patterns are similar—such as impulsive behavior and intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety.
Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder
The criteria for diagnosing borderline personality disorder are outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DMS-5). For someone to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder five of the nine signs and symptoms must be present.
According to the DSM-5, the nine criteria of borderline personality disorder are:
Fear of abandonmentUnstable and intense relationships, with rapid changes between idealization and devaluationIdentity disturbancesImpulsivity (spending money, unsafe sexual behavior, substance abuse, and other risk-taking behavior)Recurrent suicidal behavior, threats of committing suicide, or behaviors causing self-harmEmotional instabilityFeelings of emptinessInappropriate anger and uncontrolled aggressionStress dependent paranoid ideations or dissociative symptoms
How Is Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosed?
There are no clinical imaging or laboratory tests that can confirm or rule out a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. It is diagnosed by a mental health professional through a clinical assessment.
Diagnosis can be challenging, as the symptoms of borderline personality disorder can overlap with multiple other mental health conditions, like:
Depression Anxiety OCD ADHD Bipolar disorder
Seeing a trained healthcare provider can ensure that you receive an accurate diagnosis and an appropriate treatment plan to help manage and reduce your symptoms.
Types of Tests
The Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines—Revised
The revised diagnostic interview for borderlines (DIB) is a semi-structured interview that assesses the symptoms and signs of borderline personality disorder. It is based on reported behaviors and feelings over the preceding two years. This test takes about 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
Structured Clinical Interview
The structured clinical interview follows the official interview guide from the American Psychiatric Association. A clinical will directly ask you questions that are related to the DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder.
The Mclean Screening Instrument
The McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD) is a 10 item questionnaire. This is commonly used to screen for borderline personality disorder.
Borderline Personality Questionnaire
The borderline personality questionnaire is a longer form questionnaire, including 80 true/false questions, that is used to assess symptoms.
The International Personality Disorder Examination Screening Questionnaire
This tool is a 77-item self-report questionnaire that is used to assess personality disorders. There is a subsection of the questionnaire that is designed specifically to assess the criteria for diagnosing borderline personality disorder.
The Mood Disorder Questionnaire
This is a self-report questionnaire that is used for diagnosing mood disorders. However, it is not the most effective tool for diagnosing borderline personality disorder because it has been found to misdiagnose the disorder.
A Word From Verywell
Borderline personality disorder is difficult to identify because its symptoms overlap with many other mood disorders. Interviews and questionnaires can be used to assist a trained professional in making an accurate diagnosis. After your diagnosis, consistently following the treatment plan prescribed by your mental health provider will help you manage the symptoms of your disorder.
