Edinburgh Napier University

  Whether Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnoses differ substantially enough to warrant separate diagnostic classifications, has been a subject of controversy for years. To contribute to the nomological network of cumulative evidence, the main goal of the present study was to explore, using network analysis, how the symptoms of ICD-11 PTSD and DSO are interconnected with BPD in a clinical sample of polytraumatised individuals (n=330). Participants completed measures of life events, CPTSD and BPD. Overall, our study suggests that BPD and CPTSD are largely separated. The bridges between BPD and CPTSD symptom clusters were scarce with “Affective Dysregulation” items being the only items related to BPD. The present study contributes to the growing literature on discriminant validity of CPTSD and supports its distinctiveness to BPD. Implications for treatment are discussed.