Supervisors info:
Ιωάννης Ζέρβας, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννης Μαλογιάννης, Διδάκτωρ Ψυχιατρικής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ελένη Γιαννούλη, Επιστημονική συνεργάτης, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Borderline Personality Disorder is one of the biggest challenges in the psychiatric clinic as to this day. Its nature and definition remain obscure. Consequently, the choice of the most appropriate and effective treatment still concerns the psychiatric community. In fact, a significant pattern of this disorder is about a "constant instability" that makes it even more complex and its study increasingly necessary.
This instability we refer to, often results in premature termination of patients' treatment. As psychotherapy turns out to be the treatment of choice, in the literature review, it is essential to give due consideration to allowing interventions to be structured in such a way that patients can engage to them. As it turns out, understanding the factors that affect and lead to premature termination of treatment is essential.
The research questions of the present study refer to three factors we assume that influence the early cessation of treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder. More specifically, executive functions related to goal-orientation, control and co-ordination of behaviour, impulsivity as a result of emotional dysregulation, and aggression are the factors that will be studied.
First, a review of the literature on the above research questions is performed in order to record the deficits that exist in the factors under study and the factors that seem to bibliographically affect the drop out in general. As shown in the literature, conflicting results appear, without it being entirely clear how patients seem to discontinue their treatment. However, according to the review, the emotional factor seems to be important and to be affecting each of the transients under study and ultimately whether or not the patients continue their psychotherapy program.
To check the research questions, the statistical method of regression analysis is proposed, in order to see if there is a predictive character in the variables. However, due to the limitations of the sample at this stage, it could not be completed. As a consequence, a comparison was made between the two study groups, those who remained in treatment and those who eventually seem to have stopped early,in order to point out each group’s characteristics. Therefore, we are talking exclusively about preliminary findings that can be generalized in the future as the research will continue and the sample will be strengthened.
However, what we find in the results and can be a trigger for further research or for opening a new field of research, is the trend that emerges in the present study, that, the patients who remained and continued their treatment, are the patients which testify to more serious emotional difficulties.
In conclusion, understanding and further investigating what was ultimately demonstrated can significantly help in better organization and planning of therapeutic interventions and in the safest and most effective way of intervening in borderline personality disorder.
Keywords:
Borderline personality disorder, Impulsivity, Aggresion, Executive functions, Drop out
