Validation, emotion dysregulation and self-harm Results from an anonymous large-scale Internet-based study of young people

Background: Self-harm is a major public healh concern and it is particularly prevalent among adolescents. The functions of self-harm are diverse, but can be devided into interpersonal and intrapersonal. Linehan’s Biosocial Theory suggests that there is a transaction between the indivduals’ emotional vulnurablity and an invalidating environment, which in turn results in maladptive and often self-destructive behaviors. This paper examines the associations between self-harm, emotion dysregulation and percieved validation/invalidation. Methods: A total of 1910 (M age = 17.2, 86.9% female gender identity) respondents completed questionnaires in an anonymous Web-based survey. We used well-established questionnairs for assessing self-harm and emotion dysregulation, and for the assessment of perceived validation/invalidation we used a novel instrument “Responses to my Emotion, Thoghts and Actions, REMTA”. Results: Validation/invalidation correlated with self-harm and to an even larger extent to emotional dysregulation. A lagre and significat part of the association between self-harm and perceived validation/inavldiation was also mediated by emotion regulation. Validation/invalidation from family members had a higher impact on both self-harm and emotion dysregulation than from non-relatives. Those reporting high levels of invalidation also reported significantly more difficulties in emotion regulation. Conclusions: The present study contributes to the understanding validation in the ethiology of self-harm. The results also provide additional support for the Biosocial Theory and has implication assessment and treatment of self-harm. Trial registration: The study was approved by the Regional Ethics Board in Stockholm (Dnr. 2015/815-31/5).

Nomothetic and Idiographic Patterns of Responses to Emotions in Borderline Personality Disorder

According to Linehan's (1993a) biosocial theory, emotion dysregulation is a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite significant advances in our understanding of emotion dysregulation in BPD, the specific associations among prompting events, discrete emotions, and selected regulation strategies (adaptive and maladaptive) have not yet been detailed. We explored these relations in a daily diary study of eight participants (Mage = 21.57, 63% female; 63% Asian) with BPD over 10-12 weeks. Participants reported prompting events of interpersonal conflict, emotional experiences of anxiety, and strategies of problem-solving and intentional avoidance most frequently. We found several unique relations between regulation strategies and both prompting events and discrete emotions, nomothetically (across all participants) and idiographically (within specific participants). These patterns contribute to an enriched understanding of the emotional experiences of people with BPD, and demonstrate the value of collecting and considering both group-level and person-specific data on emotion regulation processes within this population.

Quality or quantity? A multi-study analysis of emotion regulation skills deficits associated with Borderline Personality Disorder

Linehan’s (1993) biosocial theory posits that people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have emotion regulation skills deficits characterized by 1) less frequent use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies, 2) more frequent use of maladaptive strategies, or 3) poorer quality strategy implementation (i.e., strategies implemented less skillfully). We tested these possibilities among participants with BPD, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), or no disorder (controls). Study 1 participants (N = 272) were recruited online; Study 2 participants (N = 90) completed in-person diagnostic assessments. The BPD groups reported greater use of maladaptive strategies than the MDD (d = .35) and control (d = 1.54) groups and lower quality implementation than the MDD (d = .33) and control groups (d = .97). BPD participants reported similar use of adaptive strategies as the MDD group (d = .09) but less use than controls (d = .47). BPD may be uniquely characterized by overuse of maladaptive strategies and poorer quality emotion regulation implementation.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder

This chapter elaborates on the multiple integrative aspects of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), an evidenced-based treatment for individuals who meet criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). It discusses how behavioral theory, Zen, and dialectics provide the primary principles and describes how the dialectical principles perform various integrating roles throughout the therapy. It also clarifies the construct of traumatic invalidation, a component of the treatment’s biosocial theory. The section on methods describes key therapeutic strategies, including problem-solving and validation. A case example illustrates the dialectical and integrative nature of the treatment. The chapter also reviews the results of randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of DBT for BPD and identifies the settings, ages, and other clinical disorders for which the treatment also has empirical support.

Developing an integrated biosocial theory to understand juvenile delinquency: from the social, cognitive, affective, and moral (SCAM) perspectives

Biosocial theory has made considerable progress in explaining juvenile delinquency and making explicit references for juvenile justice policy during the past decades. However, because biosocial theory aims to identify multiple risk factors, it makes juvenile justice practice and develop delinquency prevention programs difficult. This paper proposes an integrated biosocial theory from the social, cognitive, affective, and moral (SCAM) perspectives to understand juvenile delinquency and facilitate the development and improvement of prevention and intervention programs. The article briefly summarizes the background and the key concepts of the chosen criminological theories and the logic of theoretical integration. Then it articulates the four aspects of the integrated biosocial theory and how it can contribute to criminology in details. Lastly, the paper identifies its potential limitations and provides practical implications.

Understanding the Bio in the Biosocial Theory of BPD

Originally, the biosocial model of borderline personality disorder (BPD) was based on clinical experience and intuition. Within the last 30 years, tremendous progress has been made strengthening the empirical basis for this model. Currently, most researchers postulate three core domains of BPD psychopathology: affective dysregulation, interpersonal disturbances, and problems in identity. Whereas affective dysregulation research has the strongest empirical support, morphological and functional neuroimaging findings point to alterations of the central regions of the emotion regulation circuitry: prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and insula. It is unclear whether these alterations are due to early adverse childhood experience or instead are more genetically driven, resulting in a pattern of emotional hypersensitivity,. However, evidence shows that successful DBT changes dysfunctional emotions and cognitive patterns as well as related neurobiological underpinnings. This chapter discusses the current state of research on the biological underpinnings of BPD.