1. Theory of mind abilities in patients with borderline personality disorder and major depression: a meta-analysis Mara J. Richman 1,2 & Zsolt Unoka 1, MD, PhD 1. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Semmelweis University 2. Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University Theory of mind abilities in patients with borderline personality disorder and major depression: a meta-analysis Mara J. Richman 1,2 & Zsolt Unoka 1, MD, PhD 1. Department of Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Semmelweis University 2. Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and major depression (MD) are characterized by distorted perception of other's intentions. Deficits in mental state decoding (MSD) are thought to underlie this clinical feature, although studies examining MSD abilities assessed by the Reading in the Mind of the Eyes Test (RMET) in MD and in BPD with or without MD have yielded inconsistent findings. A meta-analysis assessing differences in the disorders was conducted among accuracy and valence scores. The current study included a review of 13 cross-sectional articles (13 effects) comparing RMET accuracy performance of patients with MD or BPD and healthy controls (N=976). Potential moderator variables including co-morbidity with BPD (MD, anxiety, substance abuse, eating, and any personality disorders) and demographic characteristics (age and sex) were also assessed. In addition to overall performance, 7 of the 13 articles provided valence scores (21 effects) of patients with MD or BPD and healthy age matched controls (N= 1525). Findings highlight the relevance of RMET performance in patients with BPD and MD. Accuracy deficits in MD could be explained by an emphasized impairment in mental state decoding. Positive valence outcomes in MD are a result of the disorder's clinical features. BPD deficits in neutral valence suggest patients emotionalized facial cues. Results also reveal the importance of considering co-morbidity in future assessment. Large significant deficits were seen for RMET accuracy among MD (d= -0.751). In positive RMET valence, patients with MD significantly performed the worst (d= -0.523); in neutral valence, patients with BPD exhibited similar deficits (d= -0.230). Moderator analysis revealed no demographic (age, sex) or co-morbidity differences (anxiety, eating, substance abuse, or cluster A personality disorders); however, co- morbidity of BPD with MD performed better than BPD alone on accuracy and positive valence. Co-morbid clusters A, B, or C personality disorders performed worse than BPD alone. INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION ABSTRACTABSTRACTRESULTSRESULTS METHODSMETHODS CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS Major depression and borderline personality disorder are both characterized by distorted perception of intentions of others leading to impaired social functioning (Csukly et al., 2011). 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