Abstract
BackgroundResearch has supported the notion that emotion dysregulation is a core feature of BPD. However, given that this feature is typical of healthy adolescents as well as adolescents with other psychiatric disorders, the specificity of emotion dysregulation to BPD in this age group has not yet been determined. The overall aim of this study was to examine emotion dysregulation in adolescent inpatients with BPD compared with non-BPD inpatient adolescents and healthy non-clinical adolescents, taking into account both global emotion dysregulation deficits and more specific impairments.MethodThe sample included 185 adolescent inpatients with BPD (M = 15.23, SD = 1.52), 367 non-BPD psychiatric inpatient adolescents (M = 15.37, SD = 1.40), and 146 healthy adolescents (M = 15.23, SD = 1.22), all of whom were between the ages of 12 and 17. Borderline personality features were assessed, along with emotion dysregulation and psychiatric severity.ResultsAfter controlling for age, gender, and psychiatric severity, results revealed that adolescents with BPD had higher overall emotional dysregulation compared with non-BPD psychiatric controls and healthy controls. These differences were apparent in only two domains of emotion dysregulation including limited access to emotion regulation strategies perceived as effective and impulse control difficulties when experiencing negative emotions.ConclusionsFindings suggest BPD-specific elevations on emotion dysregulation generally, and subscales related to behavioral regulation specifically.
Highlights
Research has supported the notion that emotion dysregulation is a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD)
After controlling for age, gender, and psychiatric severity, results revealed that adolescents with BPD had higher overall emotional dysregulation compared with non-BPD psychiatric controls and healthy controls
Findings suggest BPD-specific elevations on emotion dysregulation generally, and subscales related to behavioral regulation
Summary
Research has supported the notion that emotion dysregulation is a core feature of BPD. Gratz and Roemer [9] operationalized emotion dysregulation as a multidimensional construct, encompassing emotional awareness, understanding, and acceptance of one’s emotions, in addition to the ability to manage emotional arousal and to act “in desired ways regardless of emotional state.” Within this broad conceptualization, Gratz and Roemer proposed six sub-factors of emotion dysregulation: lack of awareness of emotional responses, lack of clarity of emotional responses, non-acceptance of Ibraheim et al Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation (2017) 4:1 emotional responses, limited access to emotion regulation strategies perceived as effective, difficulties controlling impulses when experiencing negative emotions, and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors when experiencing negative emotions [9]. This multidimensional structure has been validated across multiple samples, including adolescents, and in clinical [10] and non-clinical groups [11, 12]
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