• Caleb J Reynolds and Sarah L Tragesser.
• Department of Psychology, Washington State University Tri-Cities, Richland, Washington, USA.
• Pain Med. 2019 Feb 1; 20 (2): 233-245.

ObjectiveTo determine whether core features of borderline personality disorder are associated with increased rates of being on disability benefits due to chronic pain conditions.SubjectsA total of 147 patients currently in treatment for chronic pain at a multimodal chronic pain clinic.MethodsWe tested for a concurrent relationship between borderline personality disorder features and employment status using self-report measures.ResultsBorderline personality disorder features were associated with increased likelihood of currently being on disability due to pain conditions (odds ratio [OR] = 23.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.68-318.73), on disability due to other conditions (OR = 33.65, 95% CI = 2.15-526.13), and unemployed (OR = 20.14, 95% CI = 1.38-294.93), even while controlling for pain severity and interference, depression, and trait anxiety. A follow-up analysis revealed that these associations were due to the negative relationships facet of borderline personality disorder features.ConclusionsBorderline personality disorder features, particularly negative relationships, are associated with increased rates of pain disability, general disability, and unemployment in a chronic pain sample. Future research should examine mechanisms by which the maladaptive interpersonal behaviors and cognitions of borderline personality disorder might result in worse long-term employment outcomes of chronic pain.© 2018 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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