Randomized Controlled Trial of Web-Based Psychoeducation for Women With Borderline Personality Disorder

Objective: To determine if internet-based psychoeducation for borderline personality disorder is effective in reducing symptom severity and improving psychosocial functioning. Methods: Eighty women who met DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder were randomly assigned either to the Internet-based psychoeducation treatment group (n =40) or to the internet-based control group with no psychoeducation (n = 40). Recruitment was conducted from July 2013 to March 2015. Subjects participated in 15 assessment periods that were divided into an acute phase (weeks 1-12) and a maintenance phase (months 6, 9, and 12). Main outcomes were assessed using the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder. Results: In the acute phase, women in the treatment group were found to have a significant decline in their scores on all 10 outcomes studied, while women in the control group had a significant decline on 7 of these outcomes. Two between-group differences were found to be significant-those in the treatment group reported a significantly greater decline in their impulsivity (z = -1.98, P= .048) and a significantly greater increase in their psychosocial functioning (z= -1.97, P= .049) than those in the control group. In the maintenance phase, those in the treatment group were found to have a significant decline in their scores on 9 of the 10 outcomes studied, while those in the control group had a significant decline in 3 of these outcomes. In terms of between-group differences, those in the treatment group reported a significantly greater decline in all 5 studied areas of borderline psychopathology: affective symptoms (z= -2.31, P=.021), cognitive symptoms (z= -3.20, P= .001), impulsivity (z= -2.44, P= .015), interpersonal difficulties (z= -2.15, P= .032), and overall borderline personality disorder symptoms (z= -2.11, P = .035). Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that Internet-based psychoeducation is an effective form of early treatment for reducing the symptom severity of borderline personality disorder for periods up to 1 year. (C) Copyright 2017 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.