Attentional Tendencies That Impact Emotion Regulation Success Within a Borderline Personality Disorder Framework

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Cheyene K. Horner ◽  
Eric S. Allard

Emotion regulation difficulties are key to borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptomatology. Literature indicates that attentional distraction, particularly within an interpersonal context, is common in BPD. Conversely, reappraisal tactics are less prevalent. The goal of the current study was to examine whether this discrepancy is observed when individuals reporting varying levels of BPD tendencies are given the choice of a preferred emotion regulation tactic when confronted with BPD-relevant stressors. Attentional engagement patterns, affective responses, and strategy success were also examined. Participants (N = 103) reported BPD tendencies as assessed by the Personality Assessment Inventory and were instructed to choose either to “distract” or to “reappraise” in response to affective images. Results revealed more instances of failing to implement distraction among individuals with higher BPD tendencies, which was also reflected in greater fixation biases to distressing content within those images. Results are discussed in terms of the malleability of emotion regulation in BPD contexts.

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Roberts ◽  
Ian Krajbich ◽  
Jennifer S. Cheavens ◽  
John V. Campo ◽  
Baldwin M. Way

People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) tend to distrust others. We hypothesized that acetaminophen might reduce distrust in people with high BPD features because disordered affective responses are partially responsible for the interpersonal difficulties of people with BPD features, and acetaminophen has been shown in multiple studies to reduce negative affect. Using a double-blind, parallel-arm design, 284 young adult participants were administered either acetaminophen (1,000 mg; acute) or placebo and subsequently completed an economic trust game. BPD features were assessed with the Personality Assessment Inventory–Borderline Features scale. Participants with elevated BPD features showed less trust in their partners in the placebo condition but increased trust in the acetaminophen condition. Acetaminophen did not change expectations of trustee’s trustworthiness and did not impact trusting behavior in participants low in BPD features. Our results indicate that acetaminophen may reduce the behavioral distrust exhibited at high levels of BPD features.


Assessment ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia J. Bell-Pringle ◽  
James L. Pate ◽  
Robert C. Brown

The usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the. Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in the classification of patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was investigated. Twenty-two female inpatients diagnosed as having BPD and 22 female student control participants participated in the study. Those who scored 70 or above on the Borderline Features ( BOR) scale of the PAI were classified as BPD. For the MMPI-2, participants with profile configurations of 8-4-2, 8-2-4, 8-4-7, or 8-2-7 were classified as BPD. Eighty-two percent of the patients and 77% of the students were classified correctly using the PAI, whereas 9% of the patients and 95% of the students were classified correctly based on the MMPI-2. The discriminant function for the selected scales of the PAI classified 8G% of the participants correctly, and the discriminant function for the selected scales of the MMPI-2 classified 84% of the participants correctly. This suggests that both tests include items that discriminate between the two groups. Overall, the classification of participants based on the BOR scale of the PAI was more accurate than the classification of participants using the profile configurations of the MMPI-2. Implications for the assessment of BPD are discussed.


Author(s):  
Annemarie Miano ◽  
Sven Barnow ◽  
Stina Wagner ◽  
Stefan Roepke ◽  
Isabel Dziobek

Abstract Background Emotion regulation (ER) and interpersonal dysfunction constitute key features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Here, we tested if females with BPD show impairments in dyadic ER, that is in their support seeking and creation of closeness. We investigated if women with BPD might over-rely on their male partner by excessive support seeking and establishing of closeness, during conversations with personally and relationship-threatening topics. Methods Thirty couples in which the women were diagnosed with BPD and 34 healthy control (HC) couples were videotaped while discussing neutral, personally threatening, and relationship-threatening topics. Support seeking was rated by three independent raters, using a naïve observer method. The creation of closeness was rated using a continuous video-rating. Perceived emotions were assessed using self-report after each conversation. Results Women with BPD engaged in more support seeking than HC women, especially in more negative behaviors to elicit support, they created less closeness to their partner than HCs and reported a greater decline of positive emotions in both threatening conditions. Women with BPD displayed more fluctuations than controls between creating closeness and distance in the personally-threatening situation. They reported a larger increase in negative emotions after the relationship threatening conversation compared to female HC. Conclusions The present study indicates an increased demand of dyadic ER in BPD. Increased negative support seeking and less creation of closeness to the partner might reflect ineffective strategies to actually receive support from the partner.


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