Effects of dialectical behaviour therapy on reducing self-harming behaviours and negative emotions in patients with borderline personality disorder: A meta-analysis

Introduction Dialectical behaviour therapy(DBT) has been widely used for borderline personality disorder(BPD). Existing studies are limited to behaviours such as self-harm, and the results for reducing self-harm were controversial. Few have systematically evaluated the effect of DBT on self-harming behaviours and negative emotions. Aim This study aims to evaluate the effects of DBT on self-harming behaviours and negative emotions in patients with BPD. Methods RCTs on DBT for BPD were searched from PubMed, Embase, etc., and the results were performed by RevMan 5.3. Results The meta-analysis demonstrated that DBT reduced self-harming behaviours, and alleviated depression, but had a negligible effect on suicidal ideation and anger. One subgroup revealed that standard DBT improved depression significantly, but DBT skills training improved poorly. Another subgroup revealed that there was a significant reduction in depression among patients receiving DBT for 4 months to 14 months, but not at 4 months. Discussion and implications for practice Findings indicate that DBT can reduce self-harming behaviours and improve depression, but effects on suicidal ideation and anger are insignificant. Subgroup analysis suggests that standard DBT and DBT-ST lasting beyond 4 months benefits on BPD. Given the quality and quantity restrictions of RCTs, more high-quality RCTs need to verify these effects.