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Original

Moral responsibility and borderline personality disorder

Pages 270-276 | Received 18 Apr 2002, Accepted 15 Jan 2003, Published online: 07 Aug 2009
 

Abstract

Objective: To examine the concepts of free will and moral responsibility in a psychiatric context, and to consider whether those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be considered responsible for their actions.

Method: A wide, but necessarily incomplete, range of literature was reviewed in the fields of psychiatry and philosophy. I offer a set of criteria for responsible action and examine some features of BPD in the light of these criteria.

Results: Impulsivity, acting out and the less severe forms of dissociation do not vitiate responsibility. Severe dissociative and psychotic symptoms may well render people with BPD less morally responsible for their actions.

Conclusions: Comorbid conditions in BPD may also affect the ability to act responsibly.

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