A Comparative Study of the Prevalence and Intensity of Borderline Personality Features in Male and Female High School Students in Fars Province

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is the most important and prevalent entity, with a population prevalence rate of 1.4 to 5.9. Although, the epidemiology of BPD is insufficiently known, our objective was to compare the cross-sectional prevalence and intensity of this disorder among high school male and female students. The study comprised of 1265 male/female high school students in educational year 2013 to 2014 in Fars province, selected by multi-stage random sampling. Data collection was done using Borderline Personality Features Scale-Children. The descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, student’s independent t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance were used for data analysis. The prevalence rate of borderline personality features in whole sample is 26.6%, with 34.2% in females and 17.4% in males There was a significant difference between males and females (P < 0.001, χ2 = 6.72). Regarding total scores and related four subscales, significant differences were found between the prevalence of borderline personality features in males and females; self-harm and negative relationship subscales were higher in male students. The results showed that there was a considerable gap between the real prevalence of borderline personality disorder in the general population and its prevalence in clinical records. Also, the prevalence of borderline personality disorder in non-clinical adolescent’s population is higher than its prevalence in adult population. It shows the necessity for more specific investigations and designing predictive plans.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is the most important and prevalent entity, with a population prevalence rate of 1.4 to 5.9. Although, the epidemiology of BPD is insufficiently known, our objective was to compare the cross-sectional prevalence and intensity of this disorder among high school male and female students. The study comprised of 1265 male/female high school students in educational year 2013 to 2014 in Fars province, selected by multi-stage random sampling. Data collection was done using Borderline Personality Features Scale-Children. The descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, student’s independent t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance were used for data analysis. The prevalence rate of borderline personality features in whole sample is 26.6%, with 34.2% in females and 17.4% in males There was a significant difference between males and females (P < 0.001, χ2 = 6.72). Regarding total scores and related four subscales, significant differences were found between the prevalence of borderline personality features in males and females; self-harm and negative relationship subscales were higher in male students. The results showed that there was a considerable gap between the real prevalence of borderline personality disorder in the general population and its prevalence in clinical records. Also, the prevalence of borderline personality disorder in non-clinical adolescent’s population is higher than its prevalence in adult population. It shows the necessity for more specific investigations and designing predictive plans.