Borderline Personality Features: Instability of Self–Esteem and Affect

On the basis of clinical literature pertaining to borderline personality disorder, it was hypothesized that individuals with borderline personality features would show evidence of self–esteem and affective instability. In addition to this instability, it was hypothesized that these individuals would show evidence of stronger reactions to daily interpersonal stress (i.e., lability). These hypotheses were examined through the employment of an experience–sampling design. The present findings suggest that individuals with borderline personality features possess unstable low self–esteem as well as negative affect that is high and unstable. Individuals with borderline personality features were also found to possess self–esteem and feelings of rejection that were labile in response to daily interpersonal stress.