A Multi-Method Approach to Examining Emotion Regulation Profiles in Women with and without Borderline Personality Disorder

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Date

2020-02-27

Authors

Lewis, Jennifer

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Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

Emotion regulation is an important transdiagnostic symptom of psychopathology and a key treatment target for intervention. It has been extensively researched in psychology using multiple measurement methods. Despite the diverse methodological approaches used to measure emotion regulation, little research has examined the correspondence of those measures. This multi-study dissertation investigated how different measures of emotion regulation correspond in women with and without Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) to generate preliminary ideas of how the relationships among these measures may be used to better understand mental disorders and improve treatment. The first study examined correspondence among self-report, behavioral, and physiological measures of emotion regulation and emotion dysregulation in 50 women with BPD and 55 non-disordered controls. Latent profile analyses were used to identify unique profiles of emotion regulation and dysregulation. Results showed that few measures of emotion regulation correlated with each other and that differences between groups were primarily found only in self-report measures. Three latent profiles of emotion regulation and four latent profiles of emotion dysregulation were identified in the full sample, demonstrating unique patterns among the relationships of these measures. The second study expanded on the neuroimaging literature of emotion reactivity and regulation in women with BPD, as well as, examined the relationships of neural findings with other measures of emotion reactivity and regulation. A sample of 32 women, 17 with BPD and 15 non-disordered controls viewed negative and neutral images while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and were instructed to either view, suppress, or reappraise. Results did not show hypothesized group differences in limbic hyperreactivity or prefrontal control regions. Activation unique to suppressing negative images was related to several measures, including self-report of increased anger and of dysfunctional coping skills. Findings of these two studies demonstrate that multi-method approaches are important in the study of emotion regulation as different measurement methods do not always correspond with each other and therefore a single measurement does not provide an accurate picture of the emotion regulation system as a whole. This research has important clinical implications in the understanding of assessment and treatment of individuals who experience difficulties in emotion regulation.

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Keywords

Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotion Dysregulation, Emotion Regulation, fMRI, Latent Profile Analysis, Multi-method

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