Abstract
This study aimed to clarify what type of supporting relationships nurses develop with borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients under the structured hospital environment during the performance of their nursing activities. The subjects were 9 psychiatric nurses who had similar qualifications and experience with 5 or more BPD patients (Holloway & Wheeler, 1996). A semi-structured interview based on the interview guide was performed to collect data, and the data was analyzed using Grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990/1999). The result showed that the supporting relationship with BPD patients under the structured hospital environment was "the supporting relationship between those who waited for a chance to nurture each other by protecting and controlling". The relationship was initially established by "the encounter with BPD patients who were likely to break the relationship with the nurses who had concerns and anger over the patients", followed by a behavior/interaction to "establish the supporting relationship in the hope of the growth of the patients even when the nurses had negative feelings toward the patients due to unpredictability of the outcome of the relationship", and finally by "the possibility of reward that might be induced by long-term involvement with the patients, while the nurses felt helplessness arising from difficulties among the nursing activities related to the BPD patients.
