Adult attachment and emotion dysregulation in borderline personality and somatoform disorders
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and somatoform disorders (SoD) involve significant problems in relationships and emotion regulation, but the similarities and differences between these disorders in these areas is not well understood. METHOD In 472 psychotherapy inpatients BPD and/or SoD diagnoses were confirmed or ruled out using clinical interviews and standardized measures. Emotional under- and over-regulation and indices of adult attachment working models and fears were assessed with validated self-report measures. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine relationships among the study variables and differences based on diagnostic status. RESULTS Under-regulation of emotion was moderately related to fear of abandonment but weakly related to fear of closeness. Over-regulation of emotion was moderately related to fear of closeness but not to fear of abandonment. BPD was associated with under-regulation of emotion and fear of abandonment, and, when comorbid with SoD, with fear of closeness. SoD was associated with inhibition or denial of fears of abandonment or closeness, and over-regulation of emotion. CONCLUSIONS Study results suggest that insecure attachment may play a role in both BPD and SoD, but in different ways, with hyperactivating emotion dysregulation prominent in BPD and deactivating emotion dysregulation evident in SoD. Also, combined hyper- and de-activating strategy components that may reflect a pattern of disorganized attachment were found, particularly in patients with comorbid BPD and SoD.
منابع مشابه
The protective role of attachment security for adolescent borderline personality disorder features via enhanced positive emotion regulation strategies.
While studies have documented significant associations between insecure attachment, emotion dysregulation, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features, no research to date has empirically delineated the specific mechanisms by which these constructs are related. The present study brings together 2 lines of research that have hitherto separately examined attachment disturbance and emotion ...
متن کاملEarly experience, structural dissociation, and emotional dysregulation in borderline personality disorder: the role of insecure and disorganized attachment
Persistent problems in emotional regulation and interpersonal relationships in borderline patients can be understood as developing from difficulties in early dyadic regulation with primary caregivers. Early attachment patterns are a relevant causal factor in the development of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Links between attachment issues, early history of neglect, and traumatic experie...
متن کاملPreoccupied attachment and emotional dysregulation: specific aspects of borderline personality disorder or general dimensions of personality pathology?
Emotional dysregulation and impaired attachment are seen by many clinical researchers as central aspects of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Alternatively, these constructs may represent general impairments in personality that are nonspecific to BPD. Using multitraitmultimethod models, the authors examined the strength of associations among preoccupied attachment, difficulties with emotio...
متن کاملChildhood traumatization by primary caretaker and affect dysregulation in patients with borderline personality disorder and somatoform disorder
Affect regulation is often compromised as a result of early life interpersonal traumatization and disruption in caregiving relationships like in situations where the caretaker is emotionally, sexually or physically abusing the child. Prior studies suggest a clear relationship between early childhood attachment-related psychological trauma and affect dysregulation. We evaluated the relationship ...
متن کاملFirst empirical evaluation of the link between attachment, social cognition and borderline features in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE Several developmental models of borderline personality disorder (BPD) emphasize the role of disrupted interpersonal relationships or insecure attachment. As yet, attachment quality and the mechanisms by which insecure attachment relates to borderline features in adolescents have not been investigated. In this study, we used a multiple mediational approach to examine the cross-sectiona...
متن کامل