Borderline Personality Disorder in People Navigating Divorce or Separation
| Key things to know | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| How common is it? | NE |
| Is it more common among people navigating divorce or separation? | Relationship instability is intrinsic to BPD, but divorce-specific prevalence isn't established |
| Are people navigating divorce or separation at higher risk? | Strong relationship between BPD and relationship instability, but direction is not simply “divorce causes BPD” |
| How much higher is the risk? | Not established divorce-specific |
| How often can it be missed? | High; intense post-breakup distress may be viewed only as situational |
| Does it show up differently among people navigating divorce or separation? | Yes contextually |
| How might it look different? | Fear of abandonment, attempts to prevent separation, rapid idealisation/devaluation, anger and identity disruption can become especially visible around breakups |
| What commonly occurs alongside it? | MDD; PTSD; substance use |
| What can it be confused with? | Adjustment disorder; PTSD/CPTSD; bipolar disorder; normal breakup distress |
| Common screening tool | MSI-BPD |
| Separate screening tool for people navigating divorce or separation | None |
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