MCQs on borderline personality disorder

By | December 20, 2023

1. Which is NOT considered a core symptom of BPD according to DSM-5 criteria?
A) Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment
B) Identity disturbance
C) Depressed mood
D) Unstable and intense interpersonal relationships

2. Impulsivity in areas that are self-damaging such as spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating is a hallmark feature of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

3. BPD is thought to involve dysfunctional or immature defenses located in what region of the ego?
A) Superego
B) Id
C) Pre-Oedipal ego
D) Reality principle

4. Chronic feelings of emptiness is considered a symptom of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

5. What percentage of BPD patients attempt suicide at least once?
A) 23-38%
B) 10-15%
C) 50-75%
D) Over 80%

6. Dissociative symptoms meeting criteria for other disorders are excluded from the BPD diagnosis. True or false?
A) True
B) False

7. Research indicates BPD may involve impairments in which two brain regions?
A) Prefrontal cortex and amygdala
B) Hippocampus and cerebellum
C) Insular cortex and striatum
D) Thalamus and globus pallidus

8. Difficulty controlling anger is a diagnostic feature of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

9. Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for BPD, while medications aim to target associated Axis I conditions or specific symptoms. True or false?
A) True
B) False

10. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms meet criteria for BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

11. Childhood abuse and neglect are linked as environmental risk factors for developing BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

12. Splitting involves a pattern of rapidly alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation of others. True or false?
A) True
B) False

13. BPD is more common in individuals with what biological relatives?
A) Siblings
B) Parents
C) Children
D) No increased familial link

14. BPD affects around how many adults in the US at some point?
A) 1-2%
B) 2-3%
C) 5-6%
D) 10-11%

15. BPD involves problems with which domain of functioning?
A) Cognitive
B) Reality testing
C) Insight
D) Identity

16. A stable, long-term relationship is a guarded prognosis in severe BPD due to fears of engulfment and abandonment. True or false?
A) True
B) False

17. Medications shown to help target BPD affect regulation include SSRIs, atypical antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and benzodiazepines. True or false?
A) True
B) False

18. Dialectical behavior therapy is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed for BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

19. Difficulty controlling anger (such as frequent displays of irritation or temper outbursts) is specified as a diagnostic criteria for BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

20. Which treatment has the strongest evidence base for reducing repeated self-harm behavior in BPD?
A) CBT
B) DBT
C) Supportive therapy
D) Psychodynamic therapy

21. BPD is reliably diagnosed by age 18 in most cases. True or false?
A) True
B) False

22. Pharmacotherapy alone without psychotherapy shows comparable efficacy to psychotherapy alone in treating BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

23. Efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment that do not include suicidal or self-injuring behaviors could qualify for BPD criteria. True or false?
A) True
B) False

24. BPD is associated with difficulties regulating bodily sensations as well as emotions. True or false?
A) True
B) False

25. Chronic feelings of emptiness is a diagnostic requirement of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

26. Which therapies have shown benefit as specifically as or more than DBT for reducing BPD symptoms?
A) Mentalization-based therapy, Transference-focused therapy
B) CBT, Interpersonal therapy
C) Supportive therapy, Psychodynamic therapy
D) No other therapies are as effective as DBT

27. Recent research proposes BPD is best conceptualized as a problem in which domain?
A) Attachment
B) Emotional regulation
C) Identity
D) All of the above

28. Structural and functional neuroimaging implicates the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and insular cortex in the pathophysiology of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

29. BPD has higher rates of co-occurring Axis I disorders than other personality disorders. True or false?
A) True
B) False

30. Marital or relationship discord is implied as a consequence but not cause of BPD traits or symptoms. True or false?
A) True
B) False

31. History of physical or sexual abuse in childhood specifically predicts BPD features with affective instability and impulsivity. True or false?
A) True
B) False

32. Two distinct and stable subtypes of BPD involve primarily ’emotionally expressive’ or ’emotionally constrained’ behavior patterns. True or false?
A) True
B) False

33. Marked and persistent identity disturbance is necessary for a BPD diagnosis but its exact nature is not specified. True or false?
A) True
B) False

34. Studies show BPD emerging from a complex interplay of genetic vulnerabilities and invalidating childhood environments. True or false?
A) True
B) False

35. Paranoid ideation occurs in BPD but does not approach delusional levels except during times of extreme stress. True or false?
A) True
B) False

36. BPD diagnosis conventionally excludes patients with clear evidence of schizophrenia spectrum pathology. True or false?
A) True
B) False

37. Pharmacotherapy alone without psychotherapy has generally shown equivalent outcomes as those receiving combined treatment. True or false?
A) True
B) False

38. Negative childhood experiences of abuse and neglect serve as substantial risk factors for BPD over the lifespan. True or false?
A) True
B) False

39. Irritability represents an affective presentation style of anger in BPD rather than an integral diagnostic feature. True or false?
A) True
B) False

40. Difficulty controlling anger is explicitly listed among diagnostic criteria for BPD according to the DSM. True or false?
A) True
B) False

41. Medications including mood stabilizers like lithium, anticonvulsants and second generation antipsychotics can help target affective symptoms of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

42. Multiple studies link impulsivity problems in BPD to abnormalities in the orbitofrontal-amygdala circuit subserving reward processing. True or false?
A) True
B) False

43. Unlike other personality disorders, BPD is conceptualized as having a biological basis coupled with environmental experiences. True or false?
A) True
B) False

44. DBT teaches techniques like mindfulness, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness to help manage difficult emotions and conflicts in relationships central to BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

45. Dissociative symptoms reaching the threshold of other specified dissociative disorder are sufficient to meet BPD criteria. True or false?
A) True
B) False

46. BPD has shown evidence to benefit from short-term CBT models focusing on present symptom states rather than underlying constructs. True or false?
A) True
B) False

47. BPD arises strictly from environmental causes like childhood trauma rather than biological vulnerabilities. True or false?
A) True
B) False

48. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-mutilating behavior represent a diagnostic feature of BPD. True or false?
A) True
B) False

49. Neuroimaging studies point to emotional dysfunction and altered cognitive processing in the amygdala, insula and prefrontal regions of BPD patients. True or false?
A) True
B) False

50. While challenging to treat, DBT and MBT deliver significant and sustained reductions in core BPD features when optimally delivered. True or false?
A) True
B) False