Personality Symptoms Research Articles

Evaluating the Impact of an Online Mindfulness Program on Healthcare Workers in Korean Medicine Institutions: A Two-Year Retrospective Study

Background/Objectives: This retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of a two-year online mindfulness program (five biweekly sessions) combined with a smartphone application for healthcare workers (HCWs) in Korean medicine (KM) institutions. Methods: Twenty-three participants, including KM University students, KM doctors, and nurses, completed a 9-week online mindfulness program in 2023 or 2024. The pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed subjective health status (SHS), knowledge of mind–body modalities (MBMs), hwa-byung (HB) symptoms, emotional labor (EL), burnout, and program satisfaction. Results: Participants showed significant improvements in SHS (p = 0.008) and MBM knowledge (p = 0.035). HB personality scores decreased significantly (p = 0.027), while the reduction in HB symptoms approached statistical significance (p = 0.052). The frequency of interactions among job-focused EL increased (p = 0.003). The subgroup analysis revealed significant reductions in HB personality traits (p = 0.017) and symptoms (p = 0.006) among practicing KM doctors and nurses. No significant changes were observed in burnout levels. Participants reported high satisfaction (median 8.00 [IQR 8.0–9.0]) and willingness to recommend the program (median 5.00 [IQR 4.0–5.0]). Conclusions: Analysis of the 2-year results suggests that the online mindfulness program effectively improved SHS, MBM knowledge, and HB-related symptoms among HCWs in KM institutions, particularly among practicing professionals. High satisfaction rates indicated the acceptability of the program. Future research should use larger sample sizes and randomized controlled designs to further validate these findings and explore long-term outcomes. This intervention shows promise as a tool to promote mental health in Korean healthcare settings.

Validation of the English-language version of the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi), and comparison with a measure of sleep inertia

ABSTRACT The Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi) assesses three components of circadian functioning: Morning Affect (time to fully awaken), Eveningness (orientation/preference for evening activity), and Distinctness (amplitude of diurnal variations in functioning). Following the original German version, translations of the MESSi (including Spanish, Turkish, and Chinese) have been validated, but validity evidence for the English-language version has been lacking. The current study tested the factor structure, internal consistency, and predicted correlations of the English-language MESSi. A sample of 600 adults from an online recruitment platform (aged 18–78, mean = 41.31, SD = 13.149) completed an online survey including the MESSi, reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), Sleep Inertia Questionnaire (SIQ), and measures of personality and depressive symptoms. Exploratory factor analysis exactly reproduced the three-component structure of Morning Affect (MA), Eveningness, and Distinctness, with all items loading strongly on their respective component. Confirmatory factor analysis of this structure showed acceptable fit. The three subscales showed good internal consistency and replicated previously reported correlations with depressive symptoms, sleep inertia, sleep quality, and personality. Further factor analysis combining the items of the MESSi, rMEQ, and SIQ replicated a previously found seven-factor structure: Cognitive, Emotional, and Physiological sleep inertia (SI), Responses to SI (including one MA item); Duration of SI (one SIQ item, 3/5 MA items); Morningness-Eveningness (MESSi Eveningness items, plus 3/5 rMEQ items); Distinctness (5/5 MESSi items). In conclusion, the English-language MESSi shows sound psychometric properties, but Morning Affect may be more suitably characterised as a measure of sleep inertia duration, rather than morningness preference.

Understanding Intensive Care Unit Family Caregivers' Vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Impact of Neurotic Personality Traits, Emotional Suppression, and Perceptions of Unexpected Death.

Rationale: Family members of patients who die in an intensive care unit (ICU) are at heightened risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Not all surrogates develop these symptoms and heterogeneity exists in PTSD symptom clusters. Objectives: The study tested a personality model of PTSD symptoms in bereaved family caregivers of ICU patients. It was hypothesized that family members endorsing higher levels of neurotic personality traits would report higher levels of PTSD symptom clusters and that these associations would be explained by tendencies to view the patient's death as unexpected and to cope by suppressing their emotions. Methods: Participants were family members of ICU patients at an urban, academic medical center who either died or were discharged to an inpatient hospice unit. Participants were contacted for participation at least six months after the patient's death. Participants completed measures of personality, emotion regulation, and PTSD symptoms. Data were analyzed using path analysis. Results: Approximately one-third (35%) of the sample of 162 caregivers endorsed at-risk levels of PTSD. Individuals reporting higher levels of neurotic personality traits reported more PTSD symptoms (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). Perceptions that the patient death was unexpected partially explained the association of neuroticism with the intrusive re-experiencing PTSD symptoms (B = 0.45, p = 0.031). In contrast, emotional suppression partially explained the association of neuroticism with avoidance (B = 0.70, p = 0.010) and hyperarousal symptom clusters (B = 0.37, p = 0.041). Conclusions: Family vulnerability to PTSD after an ICU death can be conceptualized based on neurotic personality traits. Tendencies to view the patient's death as unexpected may contribute to intrusive thoughts and memories of the ICU experience. Individuals may avoid reminders and remain at heightened levels of arousal when they suppress their emotional experiences. Key Message: Family members who experience the death of a loved one following ICU treatment are vulnerable to PTSD symptoms. These reactions to ICU-related losses may be shaped by family members' personalities, expectations, and emotion regulation styles. Understanding these characteristics could inform family screening and intervention efforts in the ICU.

The mediating effects of parental hope and psychological resilience on social support and decision conflict in children with hypospadias

IntroductionThe most common congenital genital abnormality of the urinary system in infants is hypospadias; its frequency is rising to 0.33 percent globally. Surgical reconstruction is the most effective treatment for hypospadias. Parents, as surrogate decision-makers for children, frequently experience decision-making conflicts when making decisions. Stress is neither a straightforward stimulus nor a simple response. However, a stressor (stimulus) caused by life events and influenced by numerous intermediate factors including personality, social support, and psychosomatic symptoms or diseases is a multi-factor process of stress response (response) . The surgical decision conflict of parents of children with hypospadias is a type of stress response, and social support may have an effect on parents' hope, psychological resilience, and decision conflict, with hope and psychological resilience serving as mediators between social support and decision conflict. AimTo investigate the structural relationship between parental social support, hope, psychological resilience, and parents decision conflict in children with hypospadias. Study DesignA cross-sectional design was used to collect the data of 210 parents of children with hypospadias from Department of Urology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital from April 2022 to March 2023. ResultsSocial support indirectly affects decision conflict through hope and psychological resilience, with a total effect of -0.224 (P<0.05), DiscussionDecision conflicts and regret can be reduced if medical professionals provide adequate and clear information, decision assistance, and meet support requirements during the decision-making process. Improving the level of psychological resilience, hope, and social support among parents of children with hypospadias is a crucial strategy for reducing the level of decision conflict they experience. In the process of making surgical decisions for children with hypospadias, the more sufficient social support from relatives, friends, and medical staff can stimulate their hope, boost their belief in the success of surgery, and the greater their psychological resilience, the more effectively decision conflict can be reduced. Some potential limitations of this study should be considered. Firstly, this study was a cross-sectional survey design. It may have some limitations in providing causal relationships between selected variables. Second, the survey investigated only one hospital, which reduces the generalizability of the findings. ConclusionThe data support the proposed model and confirm the structural relationship among the four study variables. This study provides new information on the mediating role of hope and psychological resilience between social support and decision-making conflict.

Cognitive Ability, Personality, and Psychopathology: A Stormy Relationship.

Cognitive and non-cognitive traits are frequently analyzed in isolation. However, there is an increasing acknowledgment that their interplay should be considered for enhancing our understanding of human psychological differences. Testing both traits in the same sample of individuals is desirable when addressing their relationships. Here, for that purpose, 299 university students from Spain (mean age = 18.5 years., 83% female) completed a cognitive ability battery comprised by nine tests, the NEO-FFI for assessing the big five personality traits, and the SCL-90-R for evaluating a range of subjective psychopathological symptoms. This resulted in 23 cognitive and non-cognitive variables that were submitted to a data reduction providing four factors: (1) neuroticism/p, (2) cognitive ability/g, (3) agreeableness/A, and (4) introversion/I. Summary factor scores revealed a positive correlation between p and I (0.47), along with negative correlations of A with p (-0.26) and with g (-0.24), and a negative correlation between A and I (-0.16). These factors were related to some degree even when the assessment of the cognitive and non-cognitive variables cannot be considered straightforwardly comparable because the former was performance based, whereas the later was based on self-reports. Conceptual and methodological implications are discussed regarding the three-way relationship among cognitive ability, personality, and subjective psychopathological symptoms.

Mediation models of the interaction between Internet gaming disorder and psychological pain and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder

Introduction: The prevalence of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) ranges from approximately 2% to 27.5% in the world population and 5.5% in the Polish population. Research findings indicate that IGD may be associated with depression, ADHD, anxiety, autism spectrum, and aggressive behaviours. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between IGD and borderline personality disorder and psychological pain (psychache). The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between IGD and symptoms of anxiety, depression, psychological pain, borderline personality disorder and determining the role of psychological pain as a mediator of the above-mentioned links.; Methods: A sample of Polish gamers (n=201) was assessed using clinical scales (HADS, IGD-20, BPD Checklist) to evaluate the severity of depression, anxiety, IGD, and borderline personality symptoms. Additionally, the psychological pain scale was administered to assess relationship with IGD via mediation models. Results: Regression analysis in a mediation model revealed that IGD significantly predicted anxiety and depression, while borderline personality disorder was a significant predictor of IGD. Moreover, a bidirectional relationship between IGD and psychological pain had been demonstrated–IGD was a significant predictor of psychological pain and vice versa. Psychological pain also mediated the relationship between IGD and anxiety and depression, as well as the relationship between borderline personality symptoms and IGD. Conclusions: In the diagnostic and therapeutic process of people suffering from IGD, the co-occurrence of IGD with psychological pain, depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder should be considered. Further scientific exploration is required to assess the associations between IGD and clinical variables and psychological pain.

Childhood trauma, resilience, psychopathology and social functioning in schizophrenia: A network analysis

The affective pathway to psychosis implicates affective symptoms and neuroticism as mediating steps between childhood trauma and symptoms of schizophrenia. Prior research seldom examined the interplay between childhood trauma, resilience, personality, social functioning and symptoms in schizophrenia patients. This study recruited 290 schizophrenia patients, and constructed a regularized partial correlation network of childhood trauma, resilience, big-five personality traits, symptoms and social functioning. We further applied flow diagram and shortest path analysis to clarify how different childhood trauma types would contribute to and reach different symptoms. In the network, emotional and physical abuse showed the highest expected influence, and resilience showed the highest strength. In flow diagrams, all nodes together contributed two-thirds of variance of social functioning (which had highest predictability). Among childhood trauma types, emotional abuse contributed most to positive symptoms; physical neglect contributed most to negative, depressive and disorganized symptoms. Childhood abuse reached positive symptoms via neuroticism and depressive symptoms, yet it reached negative symptoms via physical neglect and social functioning. Childhood neglect reached positive symptoms via resilience, conscientiousness, neuroticism and depressive symptoms, yet it reached negative symptoms via social functioning. Our findings support that different childhood trauma types contribute to different symptoms, and interacts with resilience, personality and social functioning.

Maladaptive Personality Characteristics, Coping and Situational Factors Predict Symptoms of Complicated Grief and Health Difficulties.

Grief responses range from minimal changes in functioning to debilitating, prolonged, complicated grief. The objective of the current study was to clarify the relationship between maladaptive personality characteristics, coping and situational factors associated with symptoms of complicated grief and health difficulties among bereaved individuals who had lost a loved one within the past six months to two years (N = 304; 59% male; M age = 33.49, SD = 9.98, range 20-81). Situational risk factors, coping (self-distancing, denial, substance use, positive reframing, acceptance, religion, self-blame, behavioral disengagement, venting and humor) and maladaptive personality traits significantly predicted either symptoms of complicated grief or health difficulties. Coping strategies partially mediated the relationship between maladaptive personality traits and symptoms of complicated grief and health difficulties. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of maladaptive personality traits and coping strategies in the conceptualization of complicated grief and should be a greater focus of clinical intervention.

Self-Reported ICD-11 Personality Disorder Severity in Peruvian Adolescents: Structure, Validity, and Tentative Cutoffs.

Personality disorder (PD) is particularly common in adolescents, which underscores the significance of early screening, diagnosis, and intervention. To date, the definition of PD in the new ICD-11 has not yet been investigated in adolescents. This study therefore aimed to investigate the unidimensionality and criterion validity of self-reported ICD-11 PD features in Peruvian adolescents using the Personality Disorder Severity ICD-11 (PDS-ICD-11) scale. A total of 1,073 students (63% female; age range 12-16 years) were administered the PDS-ICD-11 scale along with criterion measures of personality pathology and symptom distress. The PDS-ICD-11 score showed adequate unidimensionality and conceptually meaningful associations with external criterion variables. The findings indicate that ICD-11 PD features, as measured with the PDS-ICD-11 scale, are structurally and conceptually sound when employed with adolescents. Norm-based cutoffs derived from the present study may be used for clinical interpretation. The PDS-ICD-11 may be employed as an efficient screening tool for personality dysfunction in adolescents.

Overlapping genetic influences between creativity and borderline personality symptoms in a large Dutch sample

Creativity and mental disorders are sometimes seen as intertwined, but research is still unclear on whether, how much, and why. Here we explore the potential role of shared genetic factors behind creativity and symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD, characterized by mood swings and randomness of thoughts). Data were collected from 6745 twins (2378 complete pairs) by the Netherlands Twin Register on BPD scores (PAI-BOR questionnaire) and working in a creative profession (proxy for creativity). First, we tested whether there is an association between BPD symptoms and creative professions. Results confirmed that individuals scoring higher on the BPD spectrum are more likely to have a creative profession (Cohen’s d = 0.16). Next, we modeled how much of this association reflects underlying genetic and/or environmental correlations—by using a bivariate classical twin design. We found that creativity and BPD were each influenced by genetic factors (heritability = 0.45 for BPD and 0.67 for creativity) and that these traits are genetically correlated rG = 0.17. Environmental influences were not correlated. This is evidence for a common genetic mechanism between borderline personality scores and creativity which may reflect causal effects and shed light on mechanisms.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of the Turkey earthquake: exploring the role of demographics, level of exposure, and personality traits

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an important mental disorder that can develop after mass traumas such as earthquakes. In our study, we aimed to investigate the development of PTSD after the Turkey earthquake (6 February 2023) and its association with some demographic variables, personality traits, and psychological vulnerability. Method 547 participants completed assessments of personality, disaster exposure, and PTSD symptoms. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify predictors of PTSD symptoms. Results PTSD scores were higher in women, single people, those with low educational level, those who witnessed someone else's injury or death, those who were injured, and those whose homes were destroyed. Physical injury, conscientiousness, marital status, income, and agreeableness predicted PTSD. Among these variables, physical injury was the strongest predictor of PTSD. Conclusions Psychological vulnerability, conscientiousness, physical injury, employment, witnessing someone else's injury, gender, and emotional stability predicted PTSD score in a significant way. Physical injury, conscientiousness, marital status, income, agreeableness predicted PTSD in a significant way.

Personality traits and measures of neuropsychiatric symptoms

Objectives Changes in personality and behavioral symptoms are a core clinical criterion for the diagnosis of dementia. This study examines the association between caregiver-rated personality traits and multiple measures of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Method Caregivers of individuals with dementia (N = 191) or cancer (N = 137) provided premorbid and concurrent personality trait ratings using the Big Five Inventory-2. Caregivers also completed the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist, Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, and Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist. Results In the combined sample, high concurrent neuroticism was associated with emotional dysregulation (r = 0.51), low agreeableness with impulse dyscontrol (r=-0.40), and low conscientiousness with decreased motivation (r=-0.42). Associations were similar across neuropsychiatric symptom scales, similar across cancer and dementia, but stronger with concurrent than premorbid personality ratings, and stronger for the individuals with mild than moderate-severe dementia. Conclusion Personality was associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms, including with the measure for mild behavioral impairment. Personality had stronger associations when concurrently assessed, indicating that personality traits co-develop with neuropsychiatric symptoms. The associations were similar across cancer and dementia, suggesting transdiagnostic processes not limited to dementia. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are partly an expression of personality; accounting for personality traits could help with diagnosis and disease monitoring, tailoring interventions, and fostering person-centered care.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Mentalization-Based Therapy With the Unified Protocol in the Treatment of Psychopathy and Comorbid Borderline + Antisocial Personality Disorders.

Those with cooccurring antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are reported to be highly psychopathic and to represent a severe challenge to treatment efforts. In a sample of such individuals, the effects of two treatments, mentalization-based therapy (MBT) and the unified protocol (UP), were investigated on three outcomes: (i) the psychopathy trait domains of meanness, boldness and disinhibition proposed by the triarchic psychopathy model (TPM); (ii) antisocial and borderline symptom severity; and (iii) the severity of their common features including impulsivity, anger expression and self-harm. Of 163 individuals with BPD + ASPD screened for eligibility, 55 were randomized to MBT treatment and 53 to UP treatment. Outcomes of treatment were assessed at 6-month intervals to 36 months. Short-term reductions were seen following both treatments in traits of psychopathy, antisocial and borderline personality symptom severity, anger dysregulation, impulsivity and self-harm, but both treatment groups showed almost complete relapse of symptoms at the 36-month follow-up. UP had more durable effects than MBT. Despite being a considerably shorter treatment, UP was at least as effective as MBT and in some respects superior. Remission of symptoms was not achieved by either treatment in the long term. Psychopathy and borderline/antisocial comorbidity with which it is associated are to some extent remediable through psychotherapy, but only in the short term. Patients with high levels of impulsivity and disinhibition are likely to relapse following psychotherapy and should be closely monitored after treatment.

Intergenerational mental health effects of traumatic victimization in Nepal: A 3-D theory study

BackgroundIntergenerational transmission of trauma is a major focus of international research. Epigenetic, complex-trauma, and intergenerational abuse pattern transmission theoretical explanations all have existing empirical support. Three-D theory argues that in addition to trauma victimization severity, victimization invasiveness and exploitativeness have important independent effects. Moreover, 3-D theory claims that a positive 3-way interaction occurs between trauma victimization invasiveness, exploitativeness, and severity. This study examines the 3-D hypotheses in the context of intergenerational trauma effects on adolescent depression symptoms and suicidal ideation in generation two. Three-D theory may play a particularly important role in intergenerational trauma effects for female victims in the context of conservative South Asian sex role norms. ObjectiveTest for main effects, two-way, and three-way interaction effects of invasiveness, exploitativeness, and severity of traumatic victimization on intergenerational transmission to adolescent depression and suicidal ideation in generation two. Pathways from maternal depression and borderline personality symptoms as well as physical and sexual abuse and neglect of the adolescent child were also tested. Participantsand setting. Participants were a nationally representative, random, multi-stage cluster sample of 1089 Nepali mothers and their 15–17 year old adolescent children. MethodsRegression models with adjustments for clustering within municipality were used to test the hypotheses. ResultsOne in four Nepali adolescents had considered suicide; more than half had high depression scores. A three-way interaction effect between maternal trauma invasiveness, exploitativeness, and severity was positively associated with adolescent depression symptoms. A two-way interaction effect between exploitativeness and severity of maternal trauma was positively associated with adolescent suicidal ideation. Maternal depression, BPD symptoms, and very severe physical abuse of the adolescent were also associated with adolescent depression symptoms. ConclusionFurther research is needed to measure and investigate invasiveness, exploitativeness, and severity of traumatic victimization as they bear on intergenerational transmission of trauma. Examination of intergenerational transmission of self-concept as a potential vector is recommended.

Distinct personality profiles associated with disease risk and diagnostic status in eating disorders

BackgroundPersonality traits have been associated with eating disorders (EDs) and comorbidities. However, it is unclear which personality profiles are premorbid risk rather than diagnostic markers. MethodsWe explored associations between personality and ED-related mental health symptoms using canonical correlation analyses. We investigated personality risk profiles in a longitudinal sample, associating personality at age 14 with onset of mental health symptoms at ages 16 or 19. Diagnostic markers were identified in a sample of young adults with anorexia nervosa (AN, n = 58) or bulimia nervosa (BN, n = 63) and healthy controls (n = 47). ResultsTwo significant premorbid risk profiles were identified, successively explaining 7.93 % and 5.60 % of shared variance (Rc2). The first combined neuroticism (canonical loading, rs = 0.68), openness (rs = 0.32), impulsivity (rs = 0.29), and conscientiousness (rs = 0.27), with future onset of anxiety symptoms (rs = 0.87) and dieting (rs = 0.58). The other, combined lower agreeableness (rs = −0.60) and lower anxiety sensitivity (rs = −0.47), with future deliberate self-harm (rs = 0.76) and purging (rs = 0.55). Personality profiles associated with “core psychopathology” in both AN (Rc2 = 80.56 %) and BN diagnoses (Rc2 = 64.38 %) comprised hopelessness (rs = 0.95, 0.87) and neuroticism (rs = 0.93, 0.94). For BN, this profile also included impulsivity (rs = 0.60). Additionally, extraversion (rs = 0.41) was associated with lower depressive risk in BN. LimitationsThe samples were not ethnically diverse. The clinical cohort included only females. There was non-random attrition in the longitudinal sample. ConclusionsThe results suggest neuroticism and impulsivity as risk and diagnostic markers for EDs, with neuroticism and hopelessness as shared diagnostic markers. They may inform the design of more personalised prevention and intervention strategies.

Bridging personality dimensions and eating symptoms: A transdiagnostic network approach.

Eating disorders (ED) have recently been studied from a network approach, conceptualising them as a complex system of interconnected variables, while highlighting the role of non-ED symptoms and personality dimensions. This study aims to explore the connections between personality and ED symptoms, identify central nodes, and compare the EDs network to a healthy control network. We employed network analysis to examine the personality-ED symptom connections in 329 individuals with an ED diagnosis and 192 healthy controls. We estimated a regularised partial correlation network and the indices of centrality and bridge centrality to identify the most influential nodes for each group. Network differences between groups were also examined. Low Self-Directedness and high Harm avoidance emerged as central bridge nodes, displaying the strongest relationship with ED symptoms. Both networks differed in their global connectivity and structure, although no differences were found in bridge centrality and centrality indices. These findings shed light on the role of personality dimensions, such as Self-Directedness and Harm Avoidance in the maintenance of ED psychopathology, supporting the transdiagnostic conceptualisation of ED. This study advances a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between personality dimensions and ED symptoms, offering potential directions for clinical interventions.

Personality traits and symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with primary vitreous floaters

PurposeWe investigated personality traits and symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with primary vitreous floaters.MethodsA U.K. sample of adult patients (> 18 years old) with vitreous floaters of a minimum of three months severe enough to seek a consultation was assessed for personality traits (The Big Five Inventory (BFI)), symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and symptoms of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7).Results149 patients participated in the study. Compared to the general population, our sample had a significantly increased score in the domain of BFI-neuroticism (3.27 vs 2.97, ρ < 0.0001, d = 0.38) and reduced score in the domain of extraversion (2.97 vs 3.24, ρ < 0.0001, d = 0.33). Female patients scored significantly higher than male patients on BFI-neuroticism (ρ = 0.01), and on BFI-agreeableness (ρ = 0.01). Age was positively correlated with BFI-Conscientiousness (r = 0.19, ρ = 0.02) and with BFI-Agreeableness (r = 0.20, ρ = 0.01). 36% of our sample had moderate to severe symptoms of depression, and 43% had moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety.ConclusionsOur study highlights the underlying psychological traits of patients with severe vitreous floaters and particular mental health needs that deserve further consideration by ophthalmological and vision science clinicians.

The effectiveness of emotion regulation training on behavioural and cognitive inhibition of teenagers with borderline personality disorder

Background and purpose: Adolescence is one of the most important developmental periods. Difficulty in emotion regulation, and coping, and the presence of borderline personality symptoms can lead to suicidal thoughts and a lack of control of aggression. This research was conducted to determine the effect of emotion regulation training on behavioural and cognitive inhibition of teenagers with borderline personality disorder. Research method: The current research is practical in terms of its purpose and terms of method, it is a semi-experimental study in which a pre-test-post-test design with a control group was used. The statistical population of this study consisted of juveniles from Mashhad Correctional Center with an age range of 14 to 18 years, who were suffering from borderline personality disorder, and 20 people were selected in an available manner and randomly replaced in experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent 8 sessions of emotion regulation program and the control group did not receive any intervention. Before and after the intervention in the experimental group, both groups did the pre-test and post-test. SPSS-24 software and covariance analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings: The findings showed that emotion regulation training has a direct and positive effect on the behavioural inhibition of teenagers suffering from borderline personality disorder. Based on the findings, emotion regulation training has an effective role in reducing the problems of borderline people. Conclusion: Therefore, it is suggested that courses of self-regulation, emotional adaptation and emotion regulation be used as supplements to improve the conditions of this group.

Personality Traits, Preoperational Thinking, and Mental Health

It has been suggested by various cognitive behaviour theorists that the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of the preoperational cognitive stage, defined by Piaget as the second stage of cognitive development, manifest themselves in chronic depression and various personality disorders. Although individuals have a formal level of functioning in their work life, they may experience regression to the preoperational domain due to an event in the interpersonal domain. In this study, the relationships between preoperational thinking and psychiatric symptoms (depression and anxiety) and personality traits were analysed. The sample consisted of 61 patients and 102 healthy individuals (104 women, 55 men). Sociodemographic form, Personality Belief Questionnaire-Short Form (PBQ-SF), The Luebeck Preoperational Thinking Recording Scale (LQPT) and Patient Health Questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9) were applied to the participants. The study results revealed a diverse predictive role of LQPT scores across different personality traits. LQPT is highly predictive for traits like Histrionic and Dependent, moderately predictive for Borderline, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Antisocial, less predictive for Paranoid, Passive-Aggressive, and Narcissistic, and not predictive for schizoid personality traits. The results of this study also showed a significant relationship between an increase in general psychiatric symptoms (depression and anxiety) and an increase in preoperational thinking levels. It was also found that preoperational thinking was significantly higher in patients with psychiatric disorders (GAD, OCD, depression, panic disorder). These findings support the results of previous research that provide a new interpretation of Piaget's work on the preoperational stage in the context of personality and psychiatric symptoms in adults.

PTSD Symptoms Among College Students: Linkages with Familial Risk, Borderline Personality, and Sexual Assault

ABSTRACT College students have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as high rates of sexual assault. What is less clear, however, is whether different sexual assault types (e.g. coercive, physically forced, and incapacitation) are associated with greater PTSD symptoms. Moreover, understanding early familial and mental health histories of college students is important for explaining PTSD symptoms. As such, we use a social stress framework to examine the relationships between early familial risk (i.e. child abuse, perceived maternal rejection), borderline personality (BP) symptoms, and three sexual assault types with PTSD symptoms among college students. A total of 783 undergraduate students (65.4% female) completed paper and pencil surveys in fall 2019 and spring 2020 at a large public university. Results revealed that females were more likely to experience child sexual abuse and all three forms of sexual assault, while males experienced higher rates of child physical abuse. OLS regression results showed positive associations between child sexual abuse, perceived maternal rejection, BP symptoms and all three types of sexual assault with PTSD symptoms. Females also experienced more PTSD symptoms compared to males. Findings have implications for targeted interventions to improve mental health outcomes.