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The Personality Disorders Institute/Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation Randomized Control Trial for Borderline Personality Disorder: Reliability of Axis I and II Diagnoses

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Abstract

The Personality Disorder Institute/Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation randomized control trial (PDI/BPDRF RCT) is a randomized control trial comparing three treatments for borderline personality disorder (BPD). An important issue for any RCT is diagnostic reliability, demonstration of which is necessary to evaluate claims of a treatment’s efficacy for a given population. The present paper examines the interrater reliability of Axis I and II disorders in the context of a high base rate of BPD features for participants referred for inclusion in the RCT. Our results indicate good to excellent levels of interrater reliability for all Axis I and II disorders in this context. Assessors were able to reliably diagnose BPD, exclusionary criteria, and comorbid diagnoses. This data is important for comparing findings and sample composition across different studies using similar sampling strategies, especially as treatments are increasingly being developed and tested for BPD.

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Notes

  1. Subjects could meet criteria for past major depression or past substance dependence. Subjects could be re-assessed for inclusion in the study if they received treatment for these problems prior to returning.

  2. Low IQ (below 85) was also a rule out criterion. It is not detailed in this report because a separate interview was used for its assessment.

  3. Difference in sample size between Tables 2 and 3 reflects a clerical error that resulted in loss of dimensional data for 3 subjects who had been rated.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation to Drs. Otto Kernberg and John Clarkin. The authors wish to thank Jack Barchas, M.D. for institutional support and to acknowledge the technical assistance of Catherine Eubanks-Carter, Jill C. Delaney, M.S.W., Pamela E. Foelsch, Ph.D., Simone Hoermann, Ph.D., Maya Kirschner, Ph.D., and Joel McClough, Ph.D. for their help in conducting assessments, James Hull, Ph.D. for organizing and maintaining the data. We also acknowledge the consultation of Armand Loranger, Ph.D. The authors wish to thank members of the Personality Disorders Institute. Finally, we would like to thank the patients for their participation in the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Joan and Sanford I Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

    Kenneth L. Critchfield Ph.D., Kenneth N. Levy Ph.D. & John F. Clarkin Ph.D.

  2. Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of Utah, Suite 1648, IRT Clinic, 501 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA

    Kenneth L. Critchfield Ph.D.

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  1. Kenneth L. Critchfield Ph.D.
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  2. Kenneth N. Levy Ph.D.
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  3. John F. Clarkin Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Kenneth L. Critchfield Ph.D..

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Critchfield, K.L., Levy, K.N. & Clarkin, J.F. The Personality Disorders Institute/Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation Randomized Control Trial for Borderline Personality Disorder: Reliability of Axis I and II Diagnoses. Psychiatr Q 78, 15–24 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-006-9023-x

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