Background & Aims: According to social cognitive processing perspective, there are three identity styles: diffuse-avoidant, information-oriented and normative styles. Identity diffusion is one of the essential diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder. The current study was aimed to explore the possibility that identity styles are also related to borderline personality in non-clinical level among students.

  Materials and Method s: This cross sectional study was conducted on 288 subjects (206 female and 82 male students) that completed the borderline personality scale (STB) and the identity styles inventory (ISI). The data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance.

  Results : The findings indicate that borderline personality features are found in people who use more diffuse-avoidant identity style, than those using information-oriented and normative identity styles (p<0/05, F= 36.16).

  Conclusions : The result of this study is parallel with previous findings and theoretical descriptions about identity diffusion in borderline personality.     

  SOURCE : URMIA MED J 2012: 22(6): 582 ISSN: 1027-3727