THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BORDERLINE CONDITIONS AND LATENT SCHIZOPHRENIA, AMBULATORY SCHIZOPHRENIA AND PSEUDONEUROTIC SCHIZOPHRENIA

In order to clarify the relationship between borderline conditions and other previously employed diagnoses, this study examined the relationship between borderline conditions, acute schizophrenia, and latent, ambulatory and pseudoneurotic schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 100 patients, 20 in each diagnostic group. These groups were matched on the basis of age, sex, and inpatient versus outpatient status. The psychological test protocols were analyzed, and predictions were advanced in four areas. First, it was expected that the acute schizophrenic group would show more evidence of thought disorder on the WAIS than any of the other groups, and that there would be no significant differences among the other groups. Second, the presence of thought disorder on the Rorschach was examined. It was predicted that there would be no difference between the groups. Third, it was expected that the acute schizophrenic group would show less evidence of anxiety on the Rorschach than any of the other groups and that there would be no significant difference among the other groups. Finally, it was expected that the acute schizophrenic group would show less evidence of healthy object relations, and more evidence of pathological object relation than the other groups. No significant differences in either healthy or pathological object relations was expected among the other groups. The acute schizophrenic group showed more evidence of thought disorder on the WAIS than the other groups, which did not differ significantly from each other. On the Rorschach, no significant differences occured. The acute schizophrenic group evidenced more anxiety on the Rorschach than any of the other groups, which did not differ significantly from each other. No difference was found between the groups in healthy object relations. The acute schizophrenic group showed more evidence of pathological object relations than the others, which did not differ significantly from each other. The results lend empirical support to the theory that the diagnosis of borderline subsumes the diagnosis of latent, ambulatory and pseudoneurotic schizophrenia. Findings indicate that dynamically the latent, ambulatory and pseudoneurotic schizophrenics resemble the borderline subjects, while they differ significantly from the acute schizophrenic subjects