@article{ref1,
title="What aspects of mindfulness and emotion regulation underpin self-harm in individuals with borderline personality disorder?",
journal="Journal of mental health",
year="2023",
author="Natividad, Ana and Huxley, Elizabeth and Townsend, Michelle L. and Grenyer, Brin F. S. and Pickard, Judy A.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Self-harm presents significant risk for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Both self-harm and BPD are associated with deficits in mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. Previous research suggests that thought suppression and emotional inexpressivity may underpin self-harm in people with BPD, suggesting potential links to self-harm functions common for those with BPD. More research is needed to strengthen our understanding of this relationship. AIMS: This study examines how BPD symptoms, mindfulness, emotion dysregulation and self-harm functions are related. <br><br>METHODS: Australian community outpatients diagnosed with BPD (N = 110) completed measures of mindfulness, emotion dysregulation and self-harm functions. Serial mediation analyses were conducted to examine relationships between variables. <br><br>RESULTS: BPD symptoms, chronic emptiness, mindfulness skills, describing and non-reacting, emotion dysregulation areas of emotion regulation strategies and poor emotional clarity were associated with recent self-harm. Various combinations of describing, strategies and clarity mediated the path between emptiness and self-harm functions more likely to be endorsed by individuals with a diagnosis of BPD. Describing was associated with all but anti-suicide function, while strategies was associated with all but anti-dissociation. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The study highlights how individuals with BPD experiencing chronic emptiness may benefit from treatment targeting describing skills and adaptive emotion regulation strategies.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0963-8237",
doi="10.1080/09638237.2023.2182425",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2023.2182425"
}