Rejection sensitivity and negative self‐beliefs as mediators of associations between the number of borderline personality disorder features and self‐reported adult attachment

Abstract

AbstractThe present two studies examine associations between self‐reported adult anxious and avoidant attachment and the number of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features reported by student samples. In addition, they examine the mediating roles of rejection sensitivity (RS) (Studies 1 and 2) and negative self‐beliefs (Study 2) on associations, independent of neuroticism. In both studies, higher anxious and avoidant attachment were associated with reporting more features, and RS partially mediated these associations. In Study 2, the self‐belief negativity was an additional mediator. These factors partially mediated the impact of anxious attachment and fully mediated that of avoidant attachment. The results are consistent with an attachment‐based model of BPD that highlights the role of internal working models of self and others as antecedents of the sensitivity to rejection seen in many with BPD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.