THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER AND ACADEMIC AND INTERPERSONAL FUNCTIONING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: DOES RELIGIOSITY MODERATE THE EFFECT?By Lisa L HosackThe significantly negative effects of borderline personality disorder (BPD) are widely known among researchers and clinicians. Individuals with BPD struggle in many areas. College students with BPD have been found to particularly struggle in academic and interpersonal ways. Over the last two decades, religiosity has been examined as a moderator of the effects of Axis I psychopathology on multiple outcomes. The specific relationship of BPD and religiosity, however, had not yet been empirically examined.The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between BPD and academic and interpersonal outcomes in college students, to examine the general relationship between BPD and religiosity, and finally, to determine if religiosity moderated the effects of academic and interpersonal outcomes among college students. The study utilized a quantitative, cross-sectional design. An online survey comprised of several validated measures of BPD, normal personality, depression, anxiety, religiosity, interpersonal functioning, and academic functioning, was given to Michigan State University undergraduates (N = 466) in Fall, 2011.Using ordinal logistic regression, BPD was found to be inversely related to an indicator of academic functioning, MSU GPA, after controlling for Axis I psychopathology and overall academic ability. BPD also strongly predicted interpersonal functioning problems within this population. Religiosity was defined as religious quest and religious engagement. Religious quest had a strong positive relationship with BPD. Finally, religiosity, after controlling for Axis I psychopathology, was not found to moderate the negative effects of BPD upon interpersonal and academic outcomes.The findings confirm the negative effects of the disorder, but also suggest an internal inclination toward religiosity among college students with BPD. Religiosity remains an important and minimally understood variable of interest, but apparently serves a different role than the one theorized in the study. Understanding and describing the particular role of religiosity and its potential in enhancing the lives of individuals with BPD is an important and worthwhile goal which will require further empirical examination.
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