McLean BPD Screening Instrument (MSI-BPD)
10-item screening — Assess BPD core symptoms
Feel like your emotions are on a roller coaster - intense highs, crushing lows, relationships that swing hot and cold? The MSI-BPD is a 10-item yes/no screening tool that maps to the 9 DSM-5 criteria for borderline personality disorder. Designed for high specificity to reduce false positives. Takes about 3 minutes. Screening only - not a diagnosis.
Emotions that swing too fast? Relationships that feel unstable? A shaky sense of who you are? The MSI-BPD screens with 10 yes/no questions — under 2 minutes. It covers 9 DSM-5 criteria for BPD (identity disturbance is split into 2 items).
Zanarini and colleagues designed it for high specificity — meaning it tries hard not to flag people who don’t have BPD. A score of 7 or higher suggests further evaluation might be worth it. Used in clinics and research, it’s a quick first pass, not a full assessment.
Scoring: 0-10 (each yes = 1). 7+ suggests possible BPD. Sensitivity 0.81, specificity 0.85 at this cutoff.
Scoring Guide
Score range 0-10 (1 point per "Yes" response). Clinical cutoff: ≥7 indicates high risk for BPD (sensitivity 0.81, specificity 0.85, Zanarini 2003). Item 2 (self-harm/suicidality) requires immediate attention if endorsed.Result Interpretation
After completing the 10 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.