Abstract
This article relates the development of borderline disorders of the self to social/contextual factors, that is, factors in the social environment in which the individual is raised, usually the family. It emphasizes the maintenance of family myths in the face of neglect and/or abuse through double-binding messages given to the child victim. In addition, constructs central to an object relations theory of borderline disorders—including negative introjects, projective defenses, and failure to self-identify—are reexamined from a TA perspective. Several case studies are offered.