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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is commonly seen in mental health settings (Gunderson, 1984). BPD has been the subject of a large body of research over the last 10 years (Paris, 1993a). Borderline pathology is characterized by intense dysphoria, impulsive acting out, and unstable interpersonal relations (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). This clinical picture is much more frequent in women than in men (Swartz, Blazer, George, and Winfield, 1990).
Borderline patients do not, on the whole, do well in individual psychotherapy. Several studies (Gunderson et al, 1989; Skodol and Buckley, ; Waldinger and Gunderson, ) have shown that most of those who are offered this treatment will drop out. There does appear to be a minority who can benefit from dynamically oriented psychotherapy (Waldinger, ). These patients could be those who have more mature defense styles (Bond, Paris, Zweig-Frank, 1994), and who are characterized by an ability to work productively in structured settings, even if they have difficulties with intimate relationships (Paris, 1994).
The present paper will review outcome research that sheds light on the relationship of marriage to borderline pathology. We will then explore two general hypotheses: (1) the success of marriage for these patients depends on the severity of borderline pathology; and (2) the success of marriage for these patients depends on the developmental maturity of the spouse. We will define success in marriage in terms of overall stability, the presence of intimacy,