Borderpolars is a long-term project that will culminate in a book. Along the way, I am writing essays and scientific articles on the subject.
Scroll down to read what I have published thus far.
Mad in America Blogs
I wrote an essay that was published as a Blog on the Mad in America website in June 2023.
Scientific papers on Borderpolars
My first scholarly publication on the borderpolar phenomenon (with James M. Ragsdale) is an analysis of psychiatric epidemiology data. While the data have many inherent limitations, the pattern of findings is stark and important: it demonstrates the profound disadvantages and hardships that are shared by people who meet diagnostic criteria for bipolar and borderline relative to just one or neither diagnosis.
Elliott, Marta, and James M. Ragsdale. 2022. "Stress Exposure and Well-being: Correlates of Meeting Criteria for Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, or Both." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 57: 1885-1896.
My second scholarly publication on the borderpolar phenomenon (also with James Ragsdale) presents results of an experiment embedded in a survey in which participants were exposed to vignette characters with bipolar or borderline (vs. distress), with variable explanations of the causes of their condition, recommended treatments, and their gender and race.
Elliott, Marta and James M. Ragsdale. 2024. “Public Stigma Towards People with Bipolar versus Borderline: An Experimental Study of Attributions, Treatability, Race, and Gender.” Stigma and Health. Online first.