Trial reportThe American journal of psychiatry2008
Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) for outpatients with borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial and 1-year follow-up.
Trial report in The American journal of psychiatry, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 83 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Brexpiprazole in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.
An Open Label Study of Single-Dose Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder With Co-occurring Borderline Personality Disorder
Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 408 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of outpatient and community treatments for people with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder': systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Improving Suicide Prevention Through Evidence-Based Strategies: A Systematic Review.The American journal of psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Impulsivity and its Therapeutic Management in Borderline Personality Disorder: a Systematic Review.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2020Pooled it
- Psychological interventions for antisocial personality disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of Psychotherapy on Psychosocial Functioning in Borderline Personality Disorder Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Implementation of the STEPPS program for the treatment of self-harm behaviors in Catalonia's prisons: barriers and facilitators.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Treating self-harm behaviors in prisons: implementation of the STEPPS program.BMC psychology · 2025Trial
- Emotional processing as mechanism of change in brief good psychiatric management for borderline personality disorder: results of a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Short-Term versus Long-Term Mentalization-Based Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial (MBT-RCT).Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2023Trial
- Iconic Therapy for the reduction of borderline personality disorder symptoms among suicidal youth: a preliminary study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Trial
- The factor structure of the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder: Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling and measurement invariance over time.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2021Trial
- Evaluation of a brief intervention within a stepped care whole of service model for personality disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation on psychosocial functioning in Borderline Personality Disorder: a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2015Trial
- The addition of STEPPS in the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder and comorbid borderline personality features: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Day Hospital Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT-DH) versus treatment as usual in the treatment of severe borderline personality disorder: protocol of a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Randomized trial of dual-focused vs. single-focused individual therapy for personality disorders and substance dependence.The Journal of nervous and mental disease · 2011Trial
- Future oriented group training for suicidal patients: a randomized clinical trial.BMC psychiatry · 2009Trial
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSystems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a 20-week manual-based group treatment program for outpatients with borderline personality disorder that combines cognitive behavioral elements and skills training with a systems component. The authors compared STEPPS plus treatment as usual with treatment as usual alone in a randomized controlled trial.
methodSubjects with borderline personality disorder were randomly assigned to STEPPS plus treatment as usual or treatment as usual alone. Total score on the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included measures of global functioning, depression, impulsivity, and social functioning; suicide attempts and self-harm acts; and crisis utilization. Subjects were followed 1 year posttreatment. A linear mixed-effects model was used in the analysis.
resultsData pertaining to 124 subjects (STEPPS plus treatment as usual [N=65]; treatment as usual alone [N=59]) were analyzed. Subjects assigned to STEPPS plus treatment as usual experienced greater improvement in the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder total score and subscales assessing affective, cognitive, interpersonal, and impulsive domains. STEPPS plus treatment as usual also led to greater improvements in impulsivity, negative affectivity, mood, and global functioning. These differences yielded moderate to large effect sizes. There were no differences between groups for suicide attempts, self-harm acts, or hospitalizations. Most gains attributed to STEPPS were maintained during follow-up. Fewer STEPPS plus treatment as usual subjects had emergency department visits during treatment and follow-up. The discontinuation rate was high in both groups.
conclusionsSTEPPS, an adjunctive group treatment, can deliver clinically meaningful improvements in borderline personality disorder-related symptoms and behaviors, enhance global functioning, and relieve depression.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.