Distinguishing PTSD, Complex PTSD, and Borderline Personality Disorder: A latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND: There has been debate regarding whether Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Complex PTSD) is distinct from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) when the latter is comorbid with PTSD.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the patterns of symptoms endorsed by women seeking treatment for childhood abuse form classes that are consistent with diagnostic criteria for PTSD, Complex PTSD, and BPD.

METHOD: A latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted on an archival dataset of 280 women with histories of childhood abuse assessed for enrollment in a clinical trial for PTSD.

RESULTS: THE LCA REVEALED FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES OF INDIVIDUALS: a Low Symptom class characterized by low endorsements on all symptoms; a PTSD class characterized by elevated symptoms of PTSD but low endorsement of symptoms that define the Complex PTSD and BPD diagnoses; a Complex PTSD class characterized by elevated symptoms of PTSD and self-organization symptoms that defined the Complex PTSD diagnosis but low on the symptoms of BPD; and a BPD class characterized by symptoms of BPD. Four BPD symptoms were found to greatly increase the odds of being in the BPD compared to the Complex PTSD class: frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, unstable sense of self, unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, and impulsiveness.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings supported the construct validity of Complex PTSD as distinguishable from BPD. Key symptoms that distinguished between the disorders were identified, which may aid in differential diagnosis and treatment planning.