Free Paper ISSPD Congress 2023

Prevalence and self-reported symptomatology of borderline personality disorder in prison: A systematic review and meta-analysis. (17695)

Sophie C Dahlenburg 1 , Dianna Bartsch 2 , Kimberley Gilson 2
  1. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Borderline Personality Disorder Collaborative, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Background: The prevalence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in the general population is approximately 1.6%1 whereas the rates of BPD amongst offenders have been reported to be between 92-30%3. To date there has been no systematic review on adult offender prevalence rates of BPD. It is important to aggregate previous findings in order to better understand how BPD presents within the offender population. Having a clearer understanding of the prevalence of BPD in prisons can help to inform funding and intervention options, educate prison staff, and provide adequate care for an already at-risk population.

Objectives: To explore the global prevalence of BPD diagnoses and self-reported symptomology amongst adult prisoners via systematic review and meta-analysis. As access to clinical diagnostic tools and measures can be limited within the prison setting, we included self-reported symptomatology measures to broaden the scope of information and identify whether screening measures can be used when a clinical diagnosis is unavailable.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of both Australian and international papers where a BPD diagnosis or self-reported symptoms were reported within a prison population. The focus was on male and female adult offenders (18+).

Findings: Our initial search yielded approximately 18 studies containing clinical diagnoses, and 13 with self-reported symptom measures. Preliminary examination of the results suggest the prevalence of BPD is higher than the general population. Further analyses will reveal if there are any gender differences in the prevalence and if prevalence rates vary between an Australian and international context.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that the prevalence of BPD in prisons should be considered when making decisions about treatment and interventions offered. Further research is required to determine if there are any predictors of BPD in prisoners (e.g., sentence type, location, or prison setting).

  1. 1 Ellison, W. D., Rosenstein, L., Morgan, T. A., & Zimmerman, M. (2018). Community and clinical epidemiology of borderline personality disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 41(4). 561-573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2018.07.008
  2. 2 Cloyes, K.G., Wong, B., Latimer, S., & Abarca, J. (2010). Time to prison return for offenders with serious mental illness released from prison: A survival analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior 37(2). 175.187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809354370
  3. 3 Black, D. W., Gunter, T., Allen, J., Blum, N., Arndt, S., Wenman, G., & Sieleni, B. (2007). Borderline personality disorder in male and female offenders newly committed to prison. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 48(5). 400-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.04.006