Citation

Terzi L, Martino F, Berardi D, Bortolotti B, Sasdelli A, Menchetti M. Psychiatry Res. 2017; 249: 321-326.

Affiliation

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences DIMEC, University of Bologna, Via Massarenti, 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: marco.menchetti3@unibo.it.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.011

PMID

28152466

Abstract

Impulsivity has often been related to aggressive and self-mutilative behavior in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Many authors focused on the key role of emotion dysregulation in explaining vulnerability to dysfunctional behavior in BPD in addition to trait impulsivity. Furthermore, recent works have shed light on a gap in empirical research concerning the specific mechanisms by which a lack of affective regulation produces aggression proneness. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation in determining vulnerability to aggression and deliberate self-harm in a sample of BPD outpatients. Enrolled patients with BPD (N =79) completed a comprehensive assessment for personality disorder symptoms, trait impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, aggressive and self - mutilative behavior. Trait impulsivity significantly predicted both aggressive and self-mutilative proneness. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation was found significantly to account for the vulnerability to aggression and self-injury, in addition to the variance explained by impulsivity. In conclusion, these findings support evidence that emotion dysregulation plays an important role in increasing the risk of dysfunctional behavior in impulsive BPD individuals.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Aggression; Emotional disturbances; Impulsive behavior; Personality assessment; Self-injurious behavior