Emotion in individuals with features of BPD
Of recent, there has been an increasing interest in understanding developmental precursors to personality disorders. However, there have been few studies that have tested Linehan's prominent biosocial theory (1993). The model posits that individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have a biological vulnerability to emotional sensitivity and reactivity that underlies their propensity to experience difficulties in emotional regulation. The following thesis explored the emotional response system in individuals with features of BPD to investigate the proposition that physiological hyperactivity underpins emotional dysregulation. Aberrations in experiential and physiological responses in individuals with features of BPD were examined during emotional stressor tasks. Interoception or sensitivity to bodily changes was also explored as a contributing factor in emotional dysregulation. The studies recruited individuals with Features of Borderline Personality Disorder (FBPD), symptoms of depression and a nonclinical comparison group. Cardiovascular and skin conductance measures were recorded. The FBPD group self-reported heightened trait negative affect intensity when compared to the depression and the nonclinical comparison group. Trait negative affect reactivity was heightened for the FBPD group when compared to the nonclinical comparison group, however, was not found to be statistically significantly different from the depression group. There was no statistically significant evidence of heightened positive affect intensity and reactivity. Individuals with FBPD self-reported heightened levels of body awareness during emotional states, although this did not generalise to general body awareness or interoceptive accuracy. Standardised images and script tasks were effective in eliciting desired emotional responses. However, the FBPD group did not display heightened emotional reactivity in both self-report or physiological measures to standardised images. Furthermore, the first study found no statistically significant difference between the experimental groups on self-report or physiological measures across the script conditions. There was evidence of heightened overall negative affect in individuals in the FBPD and the depression group when compared to the nonclinical comparison group during the script tasks. The second study supported heightened baseline negative affect, negative affect reactivity to the negative script task and prolonged recovery from the negative script task in individuals with FBPD, when compared to the nonclinical comparison group. The FBPD group reported heightened negative affect during recovery from the negative script when compared to the depression group, although this did not extend to baseline negative affect and reactivity to the negative script. This suggests that the FBPD group exhibited prolonged negative reactions to the negative script task. There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental groups on self-reported negative and positive affect in response to the neutral and positive script tasks. Interestingly, the FBPD group reported heightened negative affect following the positive script task when compared to the nonclinical comparison and the depression groups. The second study also found that the FBPD and the depression group reported heightened general negative affect when compared to the nonclinical comparison group. There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental groups on physiological measures during the second script task. Individuals with FBPD exhibit vulnerability in trait negative affect intensity and prolonged negative affect following a negative emotional induction task. There was no statistically significant evidence of physiological hyperactivity within the peripheral nervous system underlying emotional dysregulation in individuals with FBPD.
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