Preliminary evaluation of psychometric properties of the Finnish Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index: Oulu-BPD-Study

Abstract

Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe disorder decreasing the functional ability of the patient and places an extensive burden on the healthcare system. There is a need for a reliable and valid instrument with which unstable recent BPD symptoms can be assessed in a short-term perspective, and which is applicable for clinical evaluations and treatment-outcome research. Aims: We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index IV (BPDSI-IV) interview in a sample of Finnish BPD patients. Our study is a part of the randomized, monocentre Oulu-BPD trial, which compares the effectiveness of treatment by experts with treatment as usual. Methods. Patients (n = 71) were enrolled in a 2-year randomized controlled trial. The BPDSI-IV was used to assess recent manifestations of BPD. The internal consistency of the BPDSI-IV in the Finnish patient sample was analysed with Cronbach's alpha coefficient and mean item-total correlation. Discriminant validity was examined by comparing the Finnish BPD patient sample with the Dutch BPD patient and non-patient samples. Results. The Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.58 to 0.79 being highest in Dissociation and lowest in Relationships. A total of five subscales out of nine exceeded the acceptable limit (≥ 0.70). With respect to mean item-total correlation, seven out of nine subscales had an acceptable correlation ≥ 0.30. Conclusions. The BPDSI-IV interview was applied for the first time in a Finnish sample of BPD patients. It appears to be a useful instrument for measuring and following the severity and the change of symptoms of patients with BPD.

• Mental healthcare services
• psychometrics
• reliability
• validity

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Notice of correction

The Early Online version of this article published online ahead of print on 10 Dec 2012 contained errors regarding the author names. This has been corrected for this version.