Emotion in individuals with features of BPD
type: CreativeWork
description: 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. Fu…
abstract: 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. Fu…
author: Ploskova, Elizabeta
language: en_AU
date published: 2020
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:30Z
provider: Australian National University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Australian National University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/206780