Contrasting bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder -1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative comparison of service users’ experiences of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder
IRAS ID
149934
Contact name
Manoj Agarwal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are separate mental healthrelated
diagnoses. Psychiatrists
sometimes misdiagnose individuals with bipolar, who later get a borderline diagnosis, and vice versa. This difficulty
in distinguishing between bipolar and borderline personality occurs because the disorders have similarities: both are
associated with unstable moods, and impulsive behaviors, such as selfharm.
Researchers have started to look for other differences between individuals with bipolar and borderline personality. It
is hoped that if better criteria distinguishing between the disorders are revealed, then individuals will be given the
correct diagnosis sooner. Some differences revealed include: the disorders may vary in family history of mental health
difficulties; the timecourse
through which individuals become unwell may differ (for example, it is thought that
borderline personality develops earlier); and individuals with both diagnoses may differ in how their moods are
unstable (e.g. moods in bipolar are thought to go between depressed and euphoric, where moods in borderline are
thought to always be generally low).
The aim of this study is to address similarities and differences between bipolar and borderline personality using a
qualitative approach in order to distinguish better between both diagnoses. Individuals diagnosed with either disorder
will be recruited into focus groups, and semistructured
interviews will discuss in greater detail themes that arise in the
focus groups. Questions the research will explore include: 1) are some categories of life event more likely to occur in
one disorder relative to the other (e.g. traumatic events versus achievement/failurerelated
events); 2) what are the
symptoms or experiences that distress individuals with each disorder the most, and are there perceived differences in
the environmental triggers of these symptoms/experiences; 3) what are the motivations behind behaviours
characteristic of both disorders; 4) how do individuals with either disorder define their identify and how do they perceive
themselves in relation to others?REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0257
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion