Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

Reader 1

Stacey Wood

Reader 2

Jose Arreola

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Abstract

Personality disorders, such as borderline and antisocial, often reflect gender biases that carry stigmas relating to the behaviors and emotions of men and women. These biases may affect how a clinician evaluates and perceives patients, influencing diagnostic decisions and skewing prevalence rates. This study aims to examine the role of clinician gender, shared gender identity, and countertransference on diagnostic decision-making for borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. A sample of 928 licensed clinical psychologists will be asked to read a case vignette of borderline and antisocial personality disorder, and will be measured on the likelihood of diagnosing the disorder, the severity of the case, and their countertransference. The study expects to find that female participants are less likely to diagnose patients with borderline personality disorder and give lower severity ratings. Clinician and patient gender matching is also expected to influence diagnostic decisions, such that participants who share gender identity with the case vignette are less likely to diagnose the disorder, but will rate the severity of the case higher when expected gender roles are violated, with countertransference mediating this relationship. This study will examine the interpersonal mechanisms that contribute to diagnostic decisions, promoting awareness of this bias and its effects.

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