ABSTRACT
O. Kernberg maintained that borderline psychopathology stemmed from ego defects resulting from the predominance of intense, pathological pregenital aggressive impulses and their derivatives, which he conceived of as attributable either to constitutional factors or to early environmental frustrations. The concept of splitting is central to Kernberg’s conceptualization of borderline psychopathology. It is splitting as a defensive operation that Kernberg believes differentiates borderline from neurotic conditions. Of all Kernberg’s contributions, it is the concept of splitting that seems to have achieved a position of theoretical inviolability, retaining its clinical currency even among those who are quick to eschew the majority of Kernberg’s ideas. There is a good deal of overlap between object relations theories and developmental theories. Nonetheless, the centrality of Kernberg’s focus upon constitutional factors—principally, upon oral aggression in the etiology of the borderline personality organization—distinguishes his formulation from that of Mahler, Masterson, and others who pay more attention to the mother-child interaction.
