A Systematic Review of Personality Disorders and Health Outcomes.

Personality disorders have been associated with a wide swath of adverse health outcomes and correspondingly high costs to healthcare systems. To date, however, there has not been a systematic review of the literature on health conditions among individuals with personality disorders. The primary aim of this article is to review research documenting the associations between personality disorders and health conditions. A systematic review of the literature revealed 78 unique empirical English-language peer-reviewed articles examining the association of personality disorders and health outcomes over the past 15 years. Specifically, we reviewed research examining the association of personality disorders with sleep disturbance, obesity, pain conditions, and other chronic health conditions. In addition, we evaluated research on candidate mechanisms underlying health problems in personality disorders and potential treatments for such disorders. Results underscore numerous deleterious health outcomes associated with PD features and PD diagnoses, and suggest potential biological and behavioural factors that may account for these relations. Guidelines for future research in this area are discussed.

Temporal associations between disordered eating and nonsuicidal self-injury: examining symptom overlap over 1 year.

Disordered eating (DE) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) commonly co-occur. This study compared several models of the longitudinal relationship between DE and NSSI, including concurrent and prospective models, and examined the possible moderating roles of self-objectification, impulsivity, and emotion dysregulation in these relationships. Individuals with NSSI (N=197) recruited from online forums completed measures of NSSI and DE every 3 months for 1 year. We tested the associations between NSSI and DE using hierarchical linear models. Results supported a concurrent relationship, wherein frequency of NSSI positively covaried with concurrent DE severity. Body surveillance moderated the concurrent relationship between NSSI and DE. Individuals who engaged in more body surveillance endorsed high levels of DE pathology, whereas those lower in body surveillance engaged in more frequent NSSI only at higher levels of DE. In addition, whereas DE did not prospectively predict NSSI, frequency of NSSI predicted more severe DE 3 months later. The prospective relationship between DE and later NSSI was moderated by emotion dysregulation, such that highly dysregulated individuals had a stronger relationship between DE and later NSSI, whereas this relationship was not significant among individuals low in emotion dysregulation. These findings add valuable information regarding the co-occurrence of self-damaging behaviors.

How often, or how many ways: clarifying the relationship between non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality.

This study clarified the association of maladaptive, potentially self-damaging behaviors with suicidality. Specifically, we examined whether greater frequency (i.e., how often) or greater versatility (i.e., how many ways) of several self-damaging behaviors, including non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), substance use, and disordered eating, increased risk for suicide. Participants who engaged in NSSI (N = 142) completed questionnaires assessing suicidal and self-damaging behavior at baseline and engagement in suicidal behaviors (e.g., ideation, attempts, talking about suicide) 3 months later. Results suggest that the versatility rather than frequency of self-damaging behaviors is most robustly associated with suicide risk. Engaging in multiple methods of NSSI and using a greater number of illicit substances were positively associated with suicide risk. Further, versatility of NSSI interacted with depression to predict suicide risk at 3-month follow-up such that highly depressed participants who engaged in more methods of NSSI exhibited highest risk, whereas those who engaged in more methods with low depression exhibited the lowest risk.

Intrapersonal and interpersonal functions of non suicidal self-injury: associations with emotional and social functioning.

Understanding the functions of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has important implications for the development and refinement of theoretical models and treatments of NSSI. Emotional and social vulnerabilities associated with five common functions of NSSI-emotion relief (ER), feeling generation (FG), self-punishment (SP), interpersonal influence (II), and interpersonal communication (IC)-were investigated to clarify why individuals use this behavior in the service of different purposes. Female participants (n = 162) with a history of NSSI completed online measures of self-injury, emotion regulation strategies and abilities, trait affectivity, social problem-solving styles, and interpersonal problems. ER functions were associated with more intense affectivity, expressive suppression, and limited access to emotion regulation strategies. FG functions were associated with a lack of emotional clarity. Similar to ER functions, SP functions were associated with greater affective intensity and expressive suppression. II functions were negatively associated with expressive suppression and positively associated with domineering/controlling and intrusive/needy interpersonal styles. IC functions were negatively associated with expressive suppression and positively associated with a vindictive or self-centered interpersonal style. These findings highlight the specific affective traits, emotional and social skill deficits, and interpersonal styles that may render a person more likely to engage in NSSI to achieve specific goals.

Borderline personality features moderate the effect of a fear induction on impulsivity.

This study examined the effects of laboratory-induced fear on impulsivity among participants who were high (n = 28) or low (n = 44) in borderline personality (BP) features. Participants were randomly assigned to complete a laboratory measure of impulsivity (passive avoidance learning task) following either a neutral mood induction or a fear induction. BP features moderated the association of the emotion condition (fear vs. neutral) with impulsivity: High-BP participants, but not low-BP participants, committed a greater number of impulsive responses in the fear condition compared with the neutral condition. Findings indicated that impulsivity among persons with BP features may not be a trait-like deficit, but rather, depends on emotional context. These findings suggest that future research should examine impulsivity under differing emotional conditions, and that clinical interventions to reduce impulsivity among persons with BP features should focus on responses to emotional contexts.