Self-Repair in Women with Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Qualitative Study
Keywords:
self-repair, identity repair, self-acceptance repair, self-concept repair, cognitive and behavioral repair, self-narrative and issues, self-empowerment, borderline personality disorder, womenAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to develop an integrated model of self-repair needs among women with symptoms of borderline personality disorder using a deductive thematic network analysis of scientific literature.
Methods and Materials: This qualitative study employed a deductive thematic network analysis approach to synthesize findings from scholarly sources published between 2011 and 2025 that addressed self-repair, identity, emotion regulation, narrative processes, and empowerment in women with borderline personality disorder. A total of 120 articles, books, and dissertations were initially retrieved through systematic searches in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ISC, and other scientific databases. Based on predefined inclusion criteria—credibility, retrievability, adherence to scientific standards, and direct relevance to self-repair needs—21 sources were selected for final analysis. Data extraction was conducted using a structured thematic coding form, and the analytic process followed Attride-Stirling’s (2001) framework for thematic network development. The rigor of the analysis was enhanced through independent coding by five reviewers and validation using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI).
Findings: Analysis revealed six major organizing themes essential to self-repair in women with borderline personality disorder: identity repair, self-acceptance repair, self-concept repair, cognitive-behavioral repair, self-narrative and problem re-narration, and self-empowerment. Each theme encompassed multiple foundational and inferential subthemes, indicating a multidimensional structure underlying self-repair processes. High agreement among coders (CVR and CVI = 0.999) confirmed the robustness and consistency of the thematic categories. The inferential patterns emphasized that identity fragmentation, maladaptive cognitions, emotional dysregulation, self-criticism, disrupted narrative coherence, and feelings of emptiness function as interconnected barriers to effective self-repair.
Conclusion: The study provides a comprehensive integrative framework describing the psychological, cognitive, emotional, and narrative domains essential for self-repair in women with borderline personality disorder, offering a foundation for designing targeted therapeutic models and assessment tools.
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References
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