Alexithymia, Affective Lability, Impulsivity, and Childhood Adversity in Borderline Personality Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement A) ◽  
pp. 114-131
Author(s):  
Emily R. Edwards ◽  
Nina L. J. Rose ◽  
Molly Gromatsky ◽  
Abigail Feinberg ◽  
David Kimhy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Affective Lability ◽  
The Relationship

Long-standing theories of borderline personality disorder (BPD) suggest that symptoms develop at least in part from childhood adversity. Emotion dysregulation may meaningfully mediate these effects. The current study examined three factors related to emotion dysregulation—alexithymia, affective lability, and impulsivity—as potential mediators of the relation between childhood adversity and BPD diagnosis in 101 individuals with BPD and 95 healthy controls. Path analysis compared three distinct models informed by the literature. Results supported a complex mediation model wherein (a) alexithymia partially mediated the relation of childhood adversity to affective lability and impulsivity; (b) affective lability mediated the relation of childhood adversity to BPD diagnosis; and (c) affective lability and impulsivity mediated the relation of alexithymia to BPD diagnosis. Findings suggest that affective lability and alexithymia are key to understanding the relationship between childhood adversity and BPD. Interventions specifically targeting affective lability, impulsivity, and alexithymia may be particularly useful for this population.

Self-Compassion Mediates the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 838-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah J. Scheibner ◽  
Anna Daniels ◽  
Simon Guendelman ◽  
Franca Utz ◽  
Felix Bermpohl
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Psychological Process ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Nonclinical Sample ◽  
The Relationship

Individuals suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience difficulties with mindfulness. How mindfulness influences BPD symptoms, however, is still unknown. We hypothesized that the relationship between mindfulness and BPD symptoms would be mediated by self-compassion. In study 1, we recruited 29 individuals with BPD and 30 group-matched healthy controls. In study 2, we complemented our results with findings from a larger, nonclinical sample of 89 participants that were recruited during an open-house event at the local university. All participants completed questionnaires assessing self-compassion, mindfulness, BPD symptom severity, and emotion dysregulation. In both studies, self-compassion mediated the relationship between mindfulness and BPD symptom severity as well as between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. Self-compassion seems to be one psychological process that could explain the relationship between mindfulness and BPD symptoms. One promising approach in therapy could be to target self-compassion more directly during mindfulness trainings and interventions.

The Relationship Between Cognitive Abilities and Trait Clinical Features in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 730-749
Author(s):  
Martino Belvederi Murri ◽  
Federica Folesani ◽  
Silvia Costa ◽  
Bruno Biancosino ◽  
Luigi Zerbinati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Structure Questionnaire ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Personality Dysfunction ◽  
The Relationship

Very few studies have focused on the relationship between cognitive functions and clinical features in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Subjects with BPD and healthy controls were administered the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Trail Making Test A and B, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-53) was used to assess the severity of current symptoms. Attachment style was assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationship Questionnaire, identity integration with the Personality Structure Questionnaire, and other domains of personality dysfunction with the RUDE Scale for Personality Dysfunction. Patients with BPD performed significantly worse than healthy controls in all cognitive domains. Cognitive functions, particularly delayed memory and visuospatial abilities, displayed meaningful associations with trait-like clinical features, above the effect of global cognition and state psychopathology. These findings highlight the need to evaluate effects of cognitive rehabilitation on trait features among individuals with BPD.

scholarly journals Are Impairments in Theory of Mind Specific to Borderline Personality Disorder?

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 827-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eivind Normann-Eide ◽  
Bj⊘rnar Torske Antonsen ◽  
Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein ◽  
Geir Pedersen ◽  
Anja Vaskinn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Interpersonal Problems ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The Relationship

Impaired theory of mind (ToM) is an assumed feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Yet, no studies have compared ToM abilities in patients with BPD, other personality disorders, and healthy controls, or investigated the relationship between ToM and severity of psychopathology and interpersonal problems. In this study, ToM was investigated by the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. No differences were found between the three groups in overall ToM abilities. The BPD group was, however, characterized by more excessive ToM (interpreted as hypermentalization). Yet, when differentiating between BPD and further severity indicators, excessive ToM was not specifically associated with a BPD diagnosis per se. Finally, there was a moderate association between hypermentalization and interpersonal problems in the BPD group. This study suggests that BPD patients tend to hypermentalize when they misinterpret social information, and that this tendency is related to the severity of their psychopathology.

scholarly journals Body connection mediates the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and impaired emotion regulation in borderline personality disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Schmitz ◽  
Katja Bertsch ◽  
Annette Löffler ◽  
Sylvia Steinmann ◽  
Sabine C. Herpertz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Body Awareness ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
The Body ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Previous studies revealed an association between traumatic childhood experiences and emotional dysregulation in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, possible mediating pathways are still not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential mediating role of body connection, describing the awareness of the relationship of bodily and mental states, for the association between a history of traumatic childhood experiences and BPD core symptomatology. Methods One-hundred-twelve adult female individuals with BPD and 96 healthy female controls (HC) were included. Impaired emotion regulation, traumatic childhood experiences, and BPD symptomatology were assessed with self-report questionnaires. The Scale of Body Connection was used to assess two dimensions of body connection, that is body awareness, describing attendance to bodily information in daily life and noticing bodily responses to emotions and/or environment and body dissociation, describing a sense of separation from one’s own body, due to avoidance or emotional disconnection. Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to test for group differences (BPD vs. HC) on the two SBC subscales and associations with clinical symptoms were analyzed with Spearman correlations. We performed mediation analyses in the BPD group to test the assumption that body connection could act as a mediator between a history of traumatic childhood experiences and emotion dysregulation. Results Individuals with BPD reported significantly lower levels of body awareness and significantly higher levels of body dissociation compared to HC. Body dissociation, traumatic childhood experiences, and emotion dysregulation were significantly positively associated. Further analyses revealed that body dissociation, but not body awareness, significantly and fully mediated the positive relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and impaired emotion regulation in the BPD sample. This mediation survived when trait dissociation, i.e., general dissociative experiences not necessarily related to the body, was statistically controlled for. Conclusion Certain dimensions of body connection seem to be disturbed in BPD patients, with body dissociation being an important feature linking a history of traumatic childhood experiences to current deficits in emotion regulation.

The Relationship Between Cognitive Abilities and Trait Clinical Features in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Martino Belvederi Murri ◽  
Federica Folesani ◽  
Silvia Costa ◽  
Bruno Biancosino ◽  
Luigi Zerbinati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Clinical Features ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Structure Questionnaire ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Personality Dysfunction ◽  
The Relationship

Very few studies have focused on the relationship between cognitive functions and clinical features in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Subjects with BPD and healthy controls were administered the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Trail Making Test A and B, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-53) was used to assess the severity of current symptoms. Attachment style was assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationship Questionnaire, identity integration with the Personality Structure Questionnaire, and other domains of personality dysfunction with the RUDE Scale for Personality Dysfunction. Patients with BPD performed significantly worse than healthy controls in all cognitive domains. Cognitive functions, particularly delayed memory and visuospatial abilities, displayed meaningful associations with trait-like clinical features, above the effect of global cognition and state psychopathology. These findings highlight the need to evaluate effects of cognitive rehabilitation on trait features among individuals with BPD.

The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity and Borderline Personality Disorder

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Paris
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
The Relationship

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is often associated with adverse events in childhood. However, early adversity does not necessarily lead to BPD, and not all BPD patients have experienced childhood adversity. The key to understanding this relationship is gene-environment interaction. Children who are vulnerable by temperament are more severely affected by adverse events. This “double hit” is a risk for developing a personality disorder. The missing piece in research on adversity and BPD is longitudinal data. This could involve research in community samples, but the frequency of BPD as an outcome is not high enough to make that strategy effective. Instead, a high-risk strategy is called for, in which children identified as suffering from abuse and neglect are followed well into adulthood. These investigations will need to be multivariate and to take temperament into account.

scholarly journals Impulsivity and Emotional Dysregulation Predict Choice Behavior During a Competitive Multiplayer Game in Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.C. Parr ◽  
O.G. Calancie ◽  
B. Coe ◽  
S. Khalid-Khan ◽  
D.P. Munoz
Keyword(s):  
Borderline Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Mixed Strategy ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Strategic Choice ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Emotional Dysregulation ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractImpulsivity and emotional dysregulation are two core features of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and the neural mechanisms recruited during mixed-strategy interactions overlap with frontolimbic networks that have been implicated in BPD. We investigated strategic choice patterns during the classic two-player game, Matching Pennies, where the most efficient strategy is to choose each option randomly from trial-to-trial to avoid exploitation by one’s opponent. Twenty-seven female adolescents with BPD (mean age: 16 years) and twenty-seven age-matched female controls (mean age: 16 years) participated in an experiment that explored the relationship between strategic choice behavior and impulsivity in both groups and emotional dysregulation in BPD. Relative to controls, BPD participants showed fewer reinforcement learning biases, increased coefficient of variation in reaction times (CV), and more anticipatory decisions. A subset of BPD participants characterized by high levels of impulsivity and emotional dysregulation showed increased reward rate, increased entropy in choice patterns, decreased CV, and fewer anticipatory decisions relative to participants with lower indices, and emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between impulsivity and CV in BPD. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed that increased vigilance to outcome was associated with higher reward rates, decreased variability in SRT, and fewer anticipatory decisions. In BPD, higher levels of emotion dysregulation corresponded to increased vigilance to outcome, and mediated its relationship with choice behavior. Together, our results suggest that impulsivity and emotional dysregulation contribute to variability in mixed-strategy decision-making in BPD, the latter of which may influence choice behavior by increasing attention to outcome information during the task.

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