NCT07337889Recruiting
Conceptualizing Borderline Personality Disorder as a Relationship Use Disorder
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 22 Jun 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
This study aims to explore a novel conceptualization of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) as a "Relationship Use Disorder." The research proposes that BPD shares key features with behavioral addictions, specifically addiction to interpersonal relationships. The study builds upon previous findings suggesting that individuals with BPD experience intense emotional dysregulation, including negative self-perception, shame, and a compulsive need for external validation. This addiction to relationships, much like substance use disorders, is thought to contribute significantly to the difficulties faced by these individuals, including interpersonal conflicts, self-destructive behaviors, and emotional instability. The study seeks to demonstrate that the relational difficulties central to BPD meet the diagnostic criteria for addiction as defined by the DSM-5. It will also explore how these relational struggles are mediated by dysfunctional self-perception and whether they are linked to behaviors such as compulsive sexual behaviors (CSBD) or suicidal tendencies. Additionally, the research will investigate the relationship between addiction to relationships and neurobiological factors, including endorphin levels, in individuals with BPD compared to those with bipolar disorder and healthy controls. The hypothesis is that individuals with BPD will exhibit higher levels of relationship addiction, with this addiction being tied to their perception of self-worth and emotional experiences in relationships. This innovative approach aims to refine the understanding of BPD, reduce stigma, and improve treatment strategies by providing scientific evidence supporting the conceptualization of BPD as a "Relationship Use Disorder."
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 194 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 11 Dec 2025
- Start date
- 1 Jun 2026
- Primary completion date
- 1 Apr 2028
- Lead sponsor
- University Hospital, Montpellier
- Diseases
- Bipolar disorder
- NCT number
- NCT07337889
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 194
- From 1 Jun 2026 to the primary completion date, 1 Apr 2028
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Participants who have received over €6000 in annual indemnities
Other illness
- Psychotic disorders (evaluated by SCID)
Other
- lack of informed consent
- Not affiliated with social security
- Under judicial or administrative confinement or involuntary hospitalization
- Protected by law (e.g., under guardianship)
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Inability to understand, speak, or write in French
- Inability to understand the study's purpose or methodology
- Excluded from another study during the exclusion period
- For Bipolar Participants (without BPD) : Current moderate or severe depressive episode (BDI score \> 18) or Current hypomanic/manic episode (YMRS \< 12)
Who the study is looking for
- General : aged 18-45
- Specific :
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD)assessed by SCID, without bipolar disorder
- Bipolar disorder (assessed by SCID), without BPD (evaluated by SCID)
- Healthy controls with no psychiatric disorders (screened by SCID).
Age in the registry: 18 years to 45 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHU Montpellier Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Montpellier | France | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.