Self-mutilation, severity of borderline psychopathology, and the Rorschach

The authors explore borderline pathology on a continuum of functioning. Rorschach variables relating to (I) aggression, (2) dependency, (3) object relations, (4) defenses, and (5) boundary disturbance were measured across a nonclinical (NC) and two clinical (borderline patients without self-mutilative behavior = N-BPD, and borderline patients with self-mutilative behaviors = SM-BPD) groups. Results demonstrated good discriminate ability (87%) between clinical and nonclinical protocols. Comparisons between N-BPD and SM-BPD groups revealed overall greater pathological scores for the SM-BPD group, specifically in dependency scores. Convergence with other studies and implications for future clinical and empirical work are discussed. (Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 73 [3], 203-225]