BORDERLINE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND CYBER-VICTIMISATION -A SINGLE CASE STUDY.

Dialectical behaviour therapy is a form of cognitive behaviour therapy that applies principles of learning to elicit the reasons and the strengthening factors behind maladaptive behaviours and alternate them with more healthy and helpful skills. The present study aims to assess the efcacy of brief dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality traits with cyber-victimisation. As a single experimental design, 20 years aged young female, diagnosed with borderline personality traits along with cyber-victimisation was taken up for the study. Borderline traits and cyber-victimisation were targeted maladaptive behaviours. The intervention was given for the duration of 8 weeks, during which DBT in a brief format consisting of mindfulness skills, emotion regulation skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills and distress tolerance skills was given. The sessions were based on weekly basis with each being 60 minutes session. Follow after a month revealed greater reduction in the targeted maladaptive behaviours. The study reveals that brief DBT is effective in reducing borderline personality traits and cyber-victimisation.

Borderline personality traits and empathy as predictors of moral decision-making in trolley problems and variants

BackgroundThe present study demonstrated a causal effect of participants’ perspectives on moral decision-making by using Trolley problems and variants. Furthermore, we investigated whether empathy and borderline personality traits (BDL traits) significantly predicted participants’ choices. We used a classical Trolley problem (a causing harm scenario) and an everyday trolley-like problem (a causing inconvenience scenario). MethodsSubjects voluntarily participated in our study (N = 427, women: 54%), fulfilled BDL traits and empathy questionnaires, and randomly completed the two types of Trolley problems, presenting both three perspectives. ResultsWe provided strong evidence that participants’ perspectives on trolley problems and variants caused significant changes in their moral decision-making. Additionally, affective empathy and BDL traits significantly predicted participants’ decisions of the causing inconvenience scenario, while only BDL traits predicted choices in the causing harm scenario. ConclusionsThis study addressed several originalities by providing new experimental materials, causal results, and the significant influence of BDL traits and affective empathy on moral decision-making. These findings raised fundamental questions that are developed in the discussion.

Borderline Personality Traits and Romantic Relationship Dissolution

Many studies have found that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with romantic relationship instability, with relationship dissolution being a recurring theme. Scant research, however, has examined the dissolution strategies and post-breakup outcomes for individuals with elevated levels of borderline traits. Findings from two studies revealed that there was an association between BPD criteria and tendency to employ less adaptive dissolution strategies when terminating a relationship. Furthermore, elevated levels of BPD traits were associated with less self-concept clarity and more unwanted pursuit of ex-partners. These findings both provide insight into how individuals with BPD traits experience relationship dissolution and suggest possible factors underlying the unstable relationship processes typically associated with borderline traits.

The Relationship between Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder traits, Impulsivity, and GPA among a college student population

Background: Impulsivity as a multidimensional construct is commonly linked with a wide range of mental health disorders, such as Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BorPD). Previous research suggests that individuals with BD and BorPD are more likely to be associated with lower academic achievement. This experiment aims to investigate the interrelation between BD or BorPD traits, impulsivity, and poor academic performance (GPA). Method: Our pre-registered study tested bipolar and borderline personality traits from a sample of 125 college students. Two behavioral tasks (Two-choice impulsivity paradigm; Go/no-go) and a self-report questionnaire (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11) were used to measure impulsivity. Students’ Grade Point Averages (GPAs) were also collected. Results: Both bipolar and borderline personality traits were positively correlated with the self-report impulsivity questionnaire (BIS-11) but not with the behavioral tasks. Students’ GPA were not significantly correlated with BD, BorPD traits, and impulsivity measures (behavioral and self-report). The self-report impulsivity questionnaire (BIS-11) was only significantly correlated with the Go/no-go task performance, but not the two-choice impulsivity paradigm. Limitations: This study is a correlational study in which participants have pre-existing conditions, therefore we cannot get a causal relationship. Besides, due to the normative sample, the study can only look at traits instead of diagnosis. Conclusions: Results from this study suggest that students with bipolar and/or borderline personality traits tend to have higher self-report impulsivity, without a noticeable impact on their GPA. Our results also support the growing consensus that impulsivity describes a diverse set of processes and traits.

Identity Diffusion as the Organizing Principle of Borderline Personality Traits in Adolescents—A Non-clinical Study

Growing evidence shows that diagnosing and treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) is of high relevance for affected youths. Although identity crisis is part of the normative developmental process, identity diffusion is a potential candidate for being an appropriate concept in further developing screening tools and interventions for BPD treatment in adolescence. We hypothesized that severity of borderline traits (as indicated by the strength of their associations with identity diffusion) would be negatively associated with non-clinical adolescents' endorsement of borderline features' presence. We also hypothesized that identity diffusion had a central role in the network of borderline personality traits and could be conceived of as a latent organizing principle of borderline personality disorder. In our study, 169 non-clinical adolescents (81 girls and 88 boys; Mage = 15.38; SDage = 1.52) filled out self-report measures of borderline personality features and identity diffusion. According to our results, having strong feelings and interpersonal sensitivity were the two most endorsed borderline personality features. Borderline personality features were positively correlated with identity diffusion. The more severe a borderline personality feature was, the less relevant it was for non-clinical adolescents. According to a network analysis, identity diffusion was the most central and least redundant element of the network of borderline personality traits. Results are discussed from a clinical point of view, further encouraging professionals to use identity diffusion screening tools to detect BPD in adolescence.