Emotion Dysregulation, Mentalization and Romantic Attachment in the Nonclinical Adolescent Female Sample

Monika Marszał,Anna Jańczak

doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9573-0

Abstract

The main goal of the current study is to verify the relationships between emotion dysregulation, mentalization, and romantic attachment in late adolescent girls (N = 120). Adolescence is a very dynamic and sensitive period, in which many changes occur in attachment and emotion regulation. The role of the primary attachment figures is gradually taken over by peers, and the beginnings of the development of romantic attachment are seen. In summary, this study was able to determine that the level of dysregulation of emotions in girls during late adolescence can be partially explained by mentalization and levels of anxiety (though not of avoidance) regarding a romantic partner, though attachment anxiety is more important for explaining emotion dysregulation than the level of mentalization. Only two aspects of emotion dysregulation show relationships with mentalization: nonacceptance of emotional responses and lack of emotional clarity. Adolescence is considered to be a critical period for interventions to protect against the onset of psychopathology. Confirmation of these relationships appears to be important for the design of therapeutic interventions. Our findings may suggest that attachment patterns, mentalization and emotion dysregulation may be good targets for therapeutic intervention in adolescence.

Highlights

In the literature of recent years, a relationship has been described increasingly frequently between attachment, emotion dysregulation (ED), and mentalization, especially in adults suffering from various types of mental disorders, and in those with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (Fonagy and Bateman 2007; Fonagy et al 2002)
The distribution of Mental States Task (MST), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) scales scores differed significantly from normal distribution, as indicated by Shapiro–Wilk W-values, which ranged from W(92) = 0.144 to W(92) = 0.094 (DERS Strategies), all p
Most significant positive dependences are observed between the Nonacceptance DERS scale and the MST scales that indicate a low level of mentalizing: Concrete Thinking, Low Defensive Level, and Intermediate Defensive Level

Summary

Introduction

In the literature of recent years, a relationship has been described increasingly frequently between attachment, emotion dysregulation (ED), and mentalization, especially in adults suffering from various types of mental disorders, and in those with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (Fonagy and Bateman 2007; Fonagy et al 2002). Fonagy and his team have developed a theoretical model to explain the formation and persistence of BPD, and verification of this model is of interest to many researchers (Fischer-Kern et al 2010; Sharp and Vanwoerden 2015).

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