Self-criticism and dependency predict affective variability in borderline personality disorder: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Affective variability is a defining feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). We hypothesize that patients with BPD who score higher on self-criticism and/or dependency-patients with a relative emphasis on self-definition and interpersonal relatedness, respectively-are characterized by more affective variability in positive and negative emotions. To examine this hypothesis, a sample of 32 patients with BPD reported their momentary feelings of anger, depression, anxiety, cheerfulness, and relaxation in an experience sampling study with 10 random signals scheduled per day for 8 days. Using heterogeneous linear mixed models, results indicate that patients with BPD who score higher on self-criticism show more within-person variance (WPV) in anger, depression, anxiety, cheerfulness, and feeling relaxed, whereas patients who score higher on dependency show more WPV in anger but less WPV in anxiety and feeling relaxed. Consequently, individual differences in affective variability in BPD are, after adjustment for the confounding between the mean and WPV of affect, related to personality vulnerabilities like self-criticism and dependency. These results add evidence to two-polarities models of personality and the existing view that there is substantial heterogeneity in BPD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The affect stabilization function of nonsuicidal self injury in Borderline Personality Disorder: An Ecological Momentary Assessment study.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is prominent in individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and there is abundant evidence that affect regulation plays an important role in NSSI in the majority of patients. Affective variability is a core feature of BPD, and thus, we hypothesize that NSSI has an affect stabilization function in BPD. Affect stabilization is a process through which individuals attempt to make their affect more stable by reducing affective variability. We tested this hypothesis in 32 participants with BPD who reported on their NSSI and affect -using a displeasure-pleasure (valence) and activation-deactivation (activation) dimension- in an experience sampling study with 10 random signals scheduled per day for 8 days. Results indicated that individuals who engaged in NSSI show more Within Subject (WS) variance in valence and activation than individuals who did not engage in NSSI. However, within the NSSI patients, individuals who engaged more frequently in NSSI during the study showed less WS variance in valence and activation than patients who engaged less frequently in NSSI. This suggests that NSSI may be reinforced by its affect stabilization function. In the discussion, we explore alternative explanations for the relation between NSSI and affective variability, and consider the clinical implications.

The emotion regulation function of nonsuicidal self-injury: A momentary assessment study in inpatients with borderline personality disorder features.

Studies using retrospective self-report or proxies of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in the lab have shown that NSSI is often preceded by intense negative emotions and followed by a decrease in negative emotions/tension, suggesting an emotion regulation function of NSSI. To investigate this emotion regulation function of NSSI in a more ecologically valid way, we used experience sampling methods to examine the temporal relationship between NSSI behavior and emotional experiences throughout the day in 30 inpatients currently staying in psychiatric hospitals. Because NSSI is especially prevalent and severe in patients with a borderline personality disorder (BPD), we focused on patients with high levels of BPD symptomatology. Results confirmed that high levels of negative emotion prospectively predicted a higher probability of engaging in NSSI in the next time interval. However, the occurrence of NSSI itself was related to concurrent increases in negative emotion and decreases in positive emotion, and even prospectively predicted an increase in negative emotion in the consecutive time interval. These preliminary results show that on a time scale of hours, instead of resulting in emotional relief, NSSI seems to be associated with a further increase in negative emotionality, shedding light on the cyclic nature of NSSI. (PsycINFO Database Record