The goal of the study was to compare coping strategies and emotional intelligence of patients suffering from borderline personality disorder (B.P.D.) and those of normal subjects in Arak city (2007 - 2008).

40 patients (20 male and 20 female) with B.P.D. and 40 normal subjects (20 male and 20 female) participated in the study. All 80 subjects were assessed using the Millon clinical multiaxial - III, coping strategies questionnaire, and emotional quotient. the method of the research was case-control; data were analyzed by t-student test and regression.

The results showed that patients with B.P.D. mainly used ineffective coping strategies such as escape-avoidance strategy in comparison with the normal subjects. Additionally the patients with B.P.D. used positive reappraisal, planful problem solving, and seeking social support less than the normal subjects, and their emotional intelligence was low. There were no significant differences between the emotional intelligence and applying coping strategies of male and female patients. Furthermore the study showed that there is a positive correlation between the applying effective coping strategies and emotional intelligence.