Emotion Differentiation as a Protective Factor Against Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract Evidence that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) serves a maladaptive emotion regulation function in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has drawn attention to processes that may increase risk for NSSI by exacerbating negative emotion, such as rumination. However, more adaptive forms of emoti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavior therapy 2013-09, Vol.44 (3), p.529-540
Main Authors: Zaki, Landon F, Coifman, Karin G, Rafaeli, Eshkol, Berenson, Kathy R, Downey, Geraldine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Behavior modification
Behavior therapy
Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder - psychology
Diaries
Differentiation
emotion differentiation
Emotions
experience-sampling
Female
Humans
Identification
Male
Medical sciences
Negative emotions
nonsuicidal self-injury
Personality
Personality disorders
Protective factors
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rumination
Self control
Self destructive behavior
Self-Injurious Behavior - psychology
Selfinjury
Surveys and Questionnaires
Treatments
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Summary:Abstract Evidence that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) serves a maladaptive emotion regulation function in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has drawn attention to processes that may increase risk for NSSI by exacerbating negative emotion, such as rumination. However, more adaptive forms of emotion processing, including differentiating broad emotional experiences into nuanced emotion categories, might serve as a protective factor against NSSI. Using an experience-sampling diary, the present study tested whether differentiation of negative emotion was associated with lower frequency of NSSI acts and urges in 38 individuals with BPD who reported histories of NSSI. Participants completed a dispositional measure of rumination and a 21-day experience-sampling diary, which yielded an index of negative emotion differentiation and frequency of NSSI acts and urges. A significant rumination by negative emotion differentiation interaction revealed that rumination predicted higher rates of NSSI acts and urges in participants with difficulty differentiating their negative emotions. The results extend research on emotion differentiation into the clinical literature and provide empirical support for clinical theories that suggest emotion identification and labeling underlie strategies for adaptive self-regulation and decreased NSSI risk in BPD.
ISSN:0005-7894
1878-1888
DOI:10.1016/j.beth.2013.04.008