assessment of borderline personality disorder symptoms among students: a cross-sectional study

Borderline personality disorder is a chronic and debilitating psychological disorder that is associated with a significant impairment in psychosocial functioning. the present study was conducted to determine the epidemiology of borderline personality disorder symptoms among female students. this was a descriptive-cross-sectional study. the statistical population included all female secondary school students in karaj city in 2018. with the multi-stage cluster sampling method, 340 people were selected and completed questionnaires of demographic variables and borderline personality disorder. the obtained data were analyzed with spss-22 statistical software and descriptive statistics, chi-square and logistic regression methods. the significance level was considered (p<0.05). the prevalence of borderline personality disorder in the whole sample is 18 people (1.8%). specific symptoms included despair (0.4%, p = 0.001), impulsivity (0.8%, p = 0.004), and dissociative/paranoid symptoms related to tension (0.6%, p = 0.002). demographic factors such as parents’ education, parents’ occupation, familial relationship between parents, a family history of psychological disorders, and smoking/addiction in parents were significantly associated with the prevalence of bpd in students (p < 0.05). the study showed a notable prevalence of borderline personality disorder symptoms among female high school students. therefore, planning to prevent and treat this disorder is a priority.