ArticleBMC psychiatry2022
The experience of loneliness among people with a "personality disorder" diagnosis or traits: a qualitative meta-synthesis.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- The prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among who have received a 'personality disorder' diagnosis or have relevant traits: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- What contributes to alienation towards parents in left-behind children: development of alienation ecological system theoretical framework.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Experiences of loneliness among people with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder': A qualitative interview study in the UK.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Psychosocial functioning in personality disorders.Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation · 2025Review
- Beyond symptom improvement: transdiagnostic and disorder-specific ways to assess functional and quality of life outcomes across mental disorders in adults.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Developing loneliness interventions for people with personality disorders: A call to action.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- The Path to Loneliness for Psychiatric Patients: A Qualitative Study of a Journey Marked by Pain, Hopelessness, Prosocial Signaling Deficits, and Coping Strategies That Are Not Effective.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2025Article
- The Key Role of Personality Functioning in Understanding the Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Feeling close to others? Social cognitive mechanisms of intimacy in personality disorders.Borderline personality disorder and emotion dysregulation · 2024Article
- Psychosocial Evaluation of Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.Journal of clinical immunology · 2024Article
- Connecting loneliness with pathological personality traits: Evidence for genetic and environmental mediation from a study of older twins.Personality disorders · 2024Article
- Understanding Patients' Experiences with Borderline Personality Disorder: Qualitative Interviews.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2023Article
- Loneliness in Personality Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness is prevalent among people with a "personality disorder" diagnosis or who have related personality traits, but the experience of loneliness among people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits has not been well described. A qualitative approach has potential to help understand the experience of loneliness among people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits, and to develop interventions that promote recovery. We therefore aimed to synthesise the qualitative literature relevant to this topic.
methodWe conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies exploring the subjective experience of loneliness as reported by people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits. We searched four databases using pre-formulated search terms, selected eligible articles, appraised the quality of each, and analyzed data from eligible studies using thematic synthesis.
resultWe identified 39 articles that described the experience of loneliness in people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits. From extracted data, we identified seven themes: (1) disconnection and emptiness: a "haunting alienation", (2) alienation arising from childhood experiences, (3) thwarted desire for closeness and connection, (4) paradox: for both closeness and distance, (5) experiences of existential loneliness, (6) recovery, embedded in a social world, and (7) group therapy: a setback. Our results suggest that for our sample early alienating and traumatic experiences may pave the way for experiences of loneliness, which further exacerbate "personality disorder" symptoms and distress.
conclusionDespite describing a need to belong and efforts to cope with unmet social needs, people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits (particularly "emotionally unstable personality disorder") report experiencing an intense disconnection from other people. This seems rooted in early adversities, reinforced by later traumatic experiences. Given the apparent salience of loneliness to people with "personality disorder" diagnoses/traits, interventions focused on helping people connect with others, which may include both psychological and social components, have potential to be beneficial in reducing loneliness and promoting recovery.
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Registered trials
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