Personality disorders: borderline features: practice question

A Psychiatry question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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Psychiatry · Personality disorders: borderline features

Sample item

A 22-year-old woman has intense unstable relationships alternating between idealisation and devaluation, recurrent self-cutting, chronic emptiness and fear of abandonment. Which diagnosis fits?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

A. Borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder features unstable relationships, identity disturbance, impulsivity, affective instability, recurrent self-harm and fear of abandonment. Splitting is the main defence. Mood swings are brief and reactive, unlike the sustained episodes of bipolar disorder.

Option by option

  • A. Borderline personality disorder (correct)

    Correct. This is the classic picture of borderline personality disorder.

  • B. Schizotypal personality disorder

    Schizotypal disorder involves eccentricity and odd beliefs.

  • C. Bipolar I disorder

    Bipolar I involves discrete manic episodes lasting days.

  • D. Histrionic personality disorder

    Histrionic personality disorder involves attention seeking and shallow emotion without chronic self-harm.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

More Psychiatry questions

Questions about this Psychiatry question

What is the answer to this Psychiatry question?

The best answer is A, Borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder features unstable relationships, identity disturbance, impulsivity, affective instability, recurrent self-harm and fear of abandonment.

Why is "Schizotypal personality disorder" not the answer?

Schizotypal disorder involves eccentricity and odd beliefs.

Why is "Bipolar I disorder" not the answer?

Bipolar I involves discrete manic episodes lasting days.

Why is "Histrionic personality disorder" not the answer?

Histrionic personality disorder involves attention seeking and shallow emotion without chronic self-harm.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Personality disorders: borderline features in Psychiatry. Splitting is the main defence. Mood swings are brief and reactive, unlike the sustained episodes of bipolar disorder.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Personality disorders: borderline features?

Learn each diagnosis by its core features and its first-line treatment. Then use the flashcards and the other Psychiatry questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.