Despite the intense study on impulsivity in BPD, little attention has been given to the relationship between gender, impulsivity and BPD. Previous findings are inconsistent and there is a lack of specific research.

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between man and women with BDP in different impulsivity measures.

We examined the gender differences in 45 subjects recruited in a psychiatric unit, in which 33 (73,3%) were women and 12 (26,7%) were men. Mean age of the study sample was 28.9 years old (SD= 1.04). No differences were found in socio-demographic variables between men and women. In order to establish a BDP diagnose the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorder (SCID-II) was used. Impulsivity was assessed with the Barrat Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and the Continuous Performance Test identical pairs version (CPT-IP).

We found significant gender differences in BIS scores. Men have scored higher than women in all BIS scores, especially in the second-order factor of nonplanning impulsiveness.

In CPT-IP results there were also significant differences between men and women performance. Men made a higher number of correct answers (hits) and a higher number of false alarms (commission errors) than women. Also, men had a significant higher score in the d index (attentional capacity) than women.

Gender differences influence the performance in laboratorial and psychometric measures of impulsivity in BPD subjects. This pattern of impulsivity is consistent with the attentional performance in these subjects.