Borderline Personality Features Scale-Children: adaptation to Turkish, validity and reliability study

Abstract

Objective: This research aims to investigate validity and reliability of Borderline Personality Features-Children (BPFS-C) in Turkish adolescent sample. Methods: The population sample consists of 267 students between the ages of 12 and 18 who study in two different schools. The clinical sample consists of 15 patients without a personality disorder and 13 patients with borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personality Features-Children, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used as data collection tools. In the clinical sample, semi-structured interviews were conducted with SCID-II. The test-retest method and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used to evaluate the reliability of the scale. The construct validity of the scale was evaluated by using confirmatory factor analysis, and the cut-off score of the scale was tested by ROC analysis. Results: The scale's internal reliability was shown to be good (Cronbach alpha=0.83). In item analysis, five items were problematic; we decided to keep two items after additional analyzes. When the original factor structure of the scale (affect instability, identity problems, negative relationships, self-harm) was evaluated as a result of the confirmatory factor analysis, goodness of fit indices was not acceptable. It was observed that the scale items with sufficient fit indexes in the bifactor (a general factor and four specific factors) model mostly contributed to the general factor. When the scale's clinical validity was evaluated, population sample and patients with Borderline Personality Disorder were distinguished by the total scores of BPFS-C with a statistical significance and a large effect size (d=3.16). As a result of the ROC analysis, the cutoff score was determined as 69. Conclusion: Overall, the results revealed that the Turkish version of the BPFS-C is a valid and reliable tool and provided evidence for a unidimensional structure for children and adolescents with borderline personality disorder.