Prevalence of Borderline Personality Disorder among University Students in Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder is a disorder which affects one’s cognitive emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness and reduces distress tolerance. The objective of this study is to find out the prevalence of borderline personality disorder among the university students for which a public sector university was selected in Peshawar. To achieve this purpose, a survey was conducted by using questionnaire comprised of demographic factors i.e., gender, socioeconomic status, age while Maclean screening instrument of borderline personality disorder was used (MSI-BPD, 6 or>6). An estimated data of 578 undergraduate and graduate students was collected through convenient sampling technique. The data collected, was analyzed via SPSS-26. The result of study was that young adult male were (43.6%) and young adult women were (56.2%). While 1.7% belong to lower middle socioeconomic status, 96.7% belong to middle socioeconomic status and 1.6% were from upper socioeconomic status. While the prevalence of borderline personality disorder was 32.2%. The age was divided into three groups of 18-21 years, 22-25 years, and 26-29 years. It was a point of concern that borderline personality disorder is rising among university students. University does not provide any counseling services to students or seminars related to mental health which may help them to handle their psychological problems. The present study is focused on the need of an early and effective intervention to minimize the risk factors of BPD in students.