Normative data and factorial structure of the Turkish version of the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time (BEST)

Objective: Borderline Personality Disorder is a psychiatric condition, which is characterized by unstable interpersonal relationships, fear of abandonment, difficulties in regulating emotions, feeling of emptiness, chronic dysphoria and depression, and impulsivity and increased risk-taking behaviors. In this study, we aimed to translate and establish psychometric properties and factorial validity of the Borderline Evaluation of Severity over Time (BEST) in a representative Turkish university students sample and obtain normative data for future epidemiological and clinical studies in Turkey. Methods: Participants were 306 (201 females, 105 males) college students at the Hasan Kalyoncu University in Gaziantep, Turkey. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hasan Kalyoncu University. Sociodemographic information of the participants was collected and Turkish version of the BEST, the Turkish version of the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Personality Belief Questionnaire (PBQ), and State–Trait Anxiety scales were administered. All statistical analysis were performed by using SPSS version 23 for Windows. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Thoughts and Feelings, Negative Behaviors and Positive Behaviors subscales were 0.80, 0.65, and 0.67, respectively. For the whole scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.75. The test–retest correlation coefficients for Thoughts and Feelings, Negative Behaviors and Positive Behaviors were 0.61, 0.50, and 0.51, respectively. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the Turkish BEST and BPQ (r = 0.337, p < .01), BDI (r = 0.460, p < .01), PBQ (r = 0.337, p < .01), State Anxiety (r = 0.351, p < .01), and Trait Anxiety (r = 0.387, p < .01) scales. A two-factor solution that accounted for 87.81% of the variance observed. The first two subscales of the BEST formed factor 1 and the last subscale formed factor 2. Conclusions: Our results suggested that Turkish BEST was a valid and reliable tool with a robust factorial structure to use in clinical population in Turkey