Abstract
Background: Childhood maltreatment and difficulties in emotion regulation are common in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Depressive Disorders (DD). Objective: This study examines differences between patients with BPD and patients with DD, regarding childhood maltreatment and difficulties in emotion regulation as well as the mediating effect of different aspects of emotion regulation deficits on the association between childhood maltreatment and BPD-symptoms. Method: A total of 305 participants, 177 with BPD and 128 with DD completed an assessment including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Data was analyzed using multiple analyses of variances and mediation analyses. Results: Patients with BPD reported more childhood maltreatment and more difficulties in emotion regulation than patients with DD. When general symptom severity, age, and gender were included in the analysis as covariates only group differences regarding ‘impulse control difficulties’ (F(1,299) = 38.97, p <.001, ηp2 =.115), ‘limited access to emotion regulation strategies’ (F(1,299) = 4.66, p =.032, ηp2 =.015), and ‘lack of emotional clarity’ (F(1,299) = 9.38, p =.002, ηp2 =.030) remained statistically significant. A mediation analysis, including above-mentioned covariates, indicated an association between emotional abuse and BPD-symptoms, which was mediated by difficulties in emotion regulation (indirect effect B =.012, 95% CI [.001;.031], R2 =.429). Subscale analyses revealed ‘impulse control difficulties’ as the aspect of difficulties in emotion regulation that has the greatest impact on this association (B =.021, 95% CI [.003;.045]). Conclusions: Patients with BPD display more childhood maltreatment and difficulties in emotion regulation than patients with DD. Difficulties in emotion regulation, especially difficulties in impulse control, seem to play an important role in the association between childhood emotional abuse and BPD-symptoms.
| Translated title of the contribution | The mediating effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on the association between childhood maltreatment and borderline personality disorder |
|---|---|
| Original language | Spanish |
| Article number | 1934300 |
| Journal | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| ISSN | 2000-8198 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Funding
EF obtained funding from the University of L?beck (Einzelprojektf?rderung und Habiliationsf?rderung f?r Wissenschaftlerinnen, Sektion Medizin). EF obtained funding for the PRO*BPD trial from the Else Kr?ner-Fresenius-Stiftung [2018_A152]. The non-profit organization addisca gGmbH has provided funding for preparatory work and data analyses of the PRO*MDD study and for MCT training of therapists and supervisors. NA received financial support by Land Schleswig-Holstein within the funding programme Open Access Publikationsfonds. Funding bodies played no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication;addisca gGmbH;Universit?t L?beck [Einzelprojektf?rderung, Habilitationsf?rderung]. The authors wish to thank all patients, research assistants and students that participated in this study.
