Validation of a French Translation of the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder, Invariance Across Genders, and Association With Depression, Trauma Symptoms, and Substance Use Among University Students

Abstract

The present study investigated psychometric properties of a French translation of the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD; Zanarini et al., 2003) in a large sample of university students (N = 1,350). A confirmatory factor analysis supported the single-factor structure of the MSI-BPD, and its configural, metric and scalar invariance across gender was established. Internal consistency was high (tetrachoric α = .88; Ω = .88). MSI-BPD scores were significantly correlated to depressive symptoms (r = .57), trauma symptoms (r = .40), negative consequences of substance use (r = .25), and frequency of drug use (r = .11). Finally, 9.5% of the sample reached the clinical cutoff, which is similar to the pooled prevalence for BPD reported in a recent meta-analysis of university students. The present study showed that the French translation of the MSI-BPD is a psychometrically sound screening tool for BPD in both men and women.