Journal of Personality Disorders最新文献

Difficulties in emotional regulation are central to borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is characterized by heightened emotional reactivity and prolonged recovery from anger, often exacerbated by rumination. In this study, we examine the role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a vital indicator of parasympathetic nervous system activity in BPD patients exposed to anger-inducing films. We recruited 35 BPD patients and 35 healthy controls, collecting self-reported emotional symptoms and physiological data during baseline, induction, recovery, and relaxation sessions. The findings revealed that BPD participants exhibited significantly slower RSA recovery from anger, underscoring its critical role in emotional regulation. Furthermore, relaxation techniques were found to enhance emotional recovery, suggesting that lower parasympathetic activation during anger makes individuals with BPD more susceptible to intense emotions. This study highlights the importance of RSA in understanding the emotional recovery process in BPD.

A large body of research supports the efficacy of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). This study examined the trajectory of symptomatology change throughout a 12-month BPD intervention in 152 outpatients with BPD who experienced active suicidal ideation. Borderline symptoms were assessed weekly by therapists and every 3 months by outpatients. Analyses of linear mixed-effects models revealed a significant effect of intervention on reducing the frequency of BPD-related behaviors evaluated by both therapists and outpatients. Completers exhibited continuous reductions in symptomatology across treatment, with a tipping point between the sixth and ninth months. Reduced symptomatology was particularly pronounced for self-harm, suicidal threat, suicidal ideation, binge eating, risky behavior, and anger outbursts. However, addictive behaviors were more resistant to change over time. These findings open new avenues for further understanding of the mechanisms of change underpinning psychotherapy treatment for BPD and shed light on potential treatment-resistant BPD symptoms.

Maladaptive personality trait domains of negative affectivity, antagonism, and disinhibition undergird the borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis according to the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD). The current study compared the associations among clinicians' ratings of maladaptive personality traits, categorical BPD diagnostic criteria, and the global BPD diagnosis in response to a clinical vignette using a large, diverse sample (N = 426) of licensed mental health care practitioners in the United States and Canada. Negative affectivity emerged as the most consistent predictor of BPD criteria and the global diagnosis. At the trait facet level, emotional lability was the most consistent independent predictor of BPD criteria and diagnosis. These findings suggest that clinicians' agreement with BPD diagnostic criteria corresponds with their perceptions of the patients as experiencing problems related to instability of emotional experiences, feelings of nervousness and frequent worry, and a tendency to engage in dangerous and risky behaviors.

An individual's awareness of their own and others' emotional experience is a key construct in several psychotherapy models, including for clients with personality disorders. Research into emotional awareness in personality disorders and their treatment has been scarce, yet it seems important to understand how these processes change in psychotherapy and how this change explains symptom reduction, in particular by conceptualizing situation-bound fluctuations of emotional awareness. In this current perspective article, we establish a theoretical consensus on models of emotional awareness and discuss current open research questions related to emotional awareness in clients with personality disorders. We conclude with the hypothesis that increased emotional awareness is a central mechanism of change in psychotherapies for personality disorders.

Poor relationship quality common among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may result, in part, from biased interpersonal decision-making. We examined memory biases for hypothetical interpersonal partner choices varying in the degree of familiarity. In Part 1 of our study, participants (n = 192) were asked to choose between novel or familiar partners based on lists of traits across six vignettes, and in Part 2, they completed a trait recognition task 36-60 hours later. Lower perceived social support was associated with a memory bias toward novel (over familiar) partners. BPD features were negatively related to an overall interpersonal memory bias (i.e., remembering both partners more negatively). However, when accounting for idiographic valence ratings, BPD features were positively related to this bias among those also low in social support. Memory biases may be related to partner choices associated with BPD features; however, it is critical to assess the role of perceived social support.

While research has demonstrated the relationship between psychopathy and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, evidence is mixed regarding how psychopathy facets relate to different forms of IPV perpetration. Literature has also underexplored how psychopathy relates to IPV victimization. To address these gaps, we investigated specificity in relationships between four psychopathy facets (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, antisocial) and three types of IPV perpetration and victimization experiences (physical, psychological, sexual) across three samples. Zero-order correlations and regressions were conducted separately, followed by z tests synthesizing the results. Across samples, correlations revealed small-to-moderate relationships between psychopathy facets and IPVs while multiple regressions revealed minimal-to-small unique effects of the facets. Findings highlight (a) that the lifestyle facet demonstrated the most consistent correlations with IPV experiences across samples while the other facets showed sample-specific relationships, and (b) that the limited unique effects of psychopathy facets implicate what they have in common as relevant to IPV experiences.

According to narrative identity theory, the meaning and importance given to childhood events within one's life story (i.e., autobiographical reasoning [AR]) may help explain why only some individuals who experience childhood maltreatment (CM) develop borderline personality (BP) pathology. We test this hypothesis by examining whether AR about childhood emotional experiences, particularly perceived event centrality and meaning-making, moderate relations between CM and BP symptoms, BP traits, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a diverse sample of 216 young women with a previous mental health diagnosis. Participants wrote recollections of negative emotional childhood events, rated the centrality of each recollection, and described the meaning of these events in their life story. Lower event centrality and positive meaning-making predicted less BP but not PTSD symptoms, with event centrality buffering the impact of CM. Findings highlight the potential utility of narrative identity theory, particularly AR, in understanding and treating BPD in the context of childhood maltreatment.

Research has shown racial differences in borderline personality disorder trait presentation between diagnosed Black women and White women. However, no studies have examined if these differences were generalizable to men and individuals with lower borderline severity. We sought to examine how gender and race affected the presentation of borderline traits across the severity continuum. Participants (n = 196) answered a series of surveys examining comorbid externalizing and internalizing traits. Differences were mostly nonsignificant with few exceptions. Higher physical aggression was observed among Black than among White participants. Gender differences also emerged with higher overall and physical aggression observed among men, and higher rejection sensitivity observed among women. Borderline trait severity was significantly associated with most internalizing and externalizing traits across all racial and gender groups. Our findings suggest a need for more diverse sampling in borderline research to fully capture the extent to which its various mechanisms manifest.

Across the lifespan, suicide mortality rates are highest among older adults, yet research on self-harm in later life remains limited. This study explores how self-reported maladaptive personality traits (measured by the PID-5-BF+M) are associated with self-harm in older adults, and whether there are potential differences according to the type of self-harm behaviors (indirect, direct, and the co-occurrence of these two) in this age group. From a convenience sample of 790 adults aged 60 years and older, 102 participants were selected using a matched-pair design. Regression models showed that three personality domains (i.e., Negative Affectivity, Antagonism, and Psychoticism) and eight personality facets were related with self-harm in older adults. Boxplots showed differences between maladaptive personality scores depending on self-harm type. Presence of elevated PID-5-BF+M scores may help clinicians identify elevated self-harm risk in older adults. Future research should differentiate between types of self-harm, as the associated risk factors may vary.