5.+Gender+Differences

Gender Differences 

 References:
 * As previously mentioned Grant et al. (2008), in their study noted the prevalence rates of alchol dependancy among individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was 41.6% which was further broken down into 52.2% males and 32.7% females. Moreover, this particular study noted the prevalance rate of Borderline Personality Disorder among individuals which alchol-related issues to be approximately 16.1% which was further broken down into 13.9% men and 20.3% women (Grant et al. 2008). This is interesting finding, although many studies appear to have mixed findings in terms of gender differences.
 * With regard to lifetime prevalence of axis 1 disorders, men are more likely to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder- particularly alcohol dependency. In the paper by Tardic, Wagner, Hoch, Baskaya, von Cube, Skaletz, Lieb & Dahmen (2009) males were 65% of substance use disorders and 43% of female participants were found to have a substance use disorder. Females were found to have anaffective issue, anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder (Tardic, Wagner, Hoch, Baskaya... & Dahmen, 2009).
 *   It has been proposed that more women than men suffer from BPD outnumbering men 3:1, approximately 70-77% of those diagnosed with BPD are women ( Bjorklund, 2006) . In her paper //No Man’s Land: Gender Bias & Social Constructivism in the Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder// the authors actually examine literature on the epistemology of BPD, the gender bias inherent in the diagnosis of BPD, and the social construction of the diagnosis.
 *   <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">How does culture impact the prevalence and manifestation of the condition? Well judgements about personality, individual level of functioning, an individual’s ethnic, cultural and social background as well as the gender ideologies that shape behaviour must be taken into account (Bijorklund, 2006). The same questions of how various social influences can impact the diagnosis of alcolholism for men (men being more frequently diagnosed with alchol problems than women) can also be examined.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Until the prevalence of BPD can be determined in community samples one cannot completely rule out the likelihood that the gendered nature of present day society also contributes to the labelling of women as borderline more often than men. Gender differences in rates of mental illness have supposedly worked as a way of socially organizing knowledge in patriarchal societies (Bijorklund, 2006). The nature of the diagnosis it’s self is viewed in this particular article as being socially constructed.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 110%; line-height: 115%;">Bjorklund, P. (2006). No man’s land: Gender bias and social constructivism in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. //Issues in Mental Health Nursing//, 27, 3–23, DOI: 10.1080/01612840500312753

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Grant et al (2008). Prevalence, Correlates, Disability, and Comorbidity of DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder: Results From the Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. //J Clin Psychiatry, 69//(4), 533

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Tardic, Wagner, Hoch, Baskaya, von Cube, Skaletz, Lieb & Dahmen (2009). Gender differences in Axis I and Axis II Comorbidity in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Psychopathology 42, 257–263. Retrieved online, October 20th, 2009 from Scholars Portal Database.