ABSTRACT
Like many adult syndromes whose origins are supposed to be in childhood experience, the borderline syndrome takes on a different and rather confusing shape in childhood. When thinking about ego weakness in the borderline syndrome, one necessarily thinks about the ego as a structure with borders which within the psyche differentiates it from the id and superego, and outside, differentiates self from other. From the family systems perspective there can be no such thing as the borderline syndrome in an individual. Since the borderline syndrome in childhood is a construct of psychodynamic theory, there is no adequate translation of the syndrome into family systems terms. The concept of the borderline syndrome in childhood has been largely based on a concept of ego functioning and maintenance of ego boundaries. Family systems theory focuses on interpersonal space, and thus can adopt the concept of boundaries as they are manifested in proximity, role differentiation, and maintenance of hierarchy.
