Date of Award

2019

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology

Department

College of Sciences and Health Professions

First Advisor

Yaroslavsky, Ilya

Subject Headings

Psychology

Abstract

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is associated with emotion dysregulation, reflected by frequent use of maladaptive responses and infrequent use of adaptive responses. However, studies on emotion regulation (ER) use and BPD have primarily employed survey methodology and it’s unclear whether these responses are deployed in daily life. Further, it is unclear if there are differences in the effectiveness of various ER responses among individuals with elevated BPD symptoms. Therefore, this study examined whether BPD symptoms predict increased use of maladaptive strategies, including rumination, suppression, and substance use, and decreased use of adaptive strategies, distraction and problem solving, in daily life. Finally, we explored the effect that BPD symptoms have on ratings of perceived effectiveness of a given ER strategy. Participants were undergraduate students and community adults (N=145) who completed measures of BPD features, demographic information, and a 7-day Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol that measured the frequency of ER strategies and the perceived effectiveness of those strategies during peak times of distress in daily life. Results indicate that elevated BPD symptoms predict increased use of rumination and substance use, decreased use of problem solving, and increased perceived effectiveness of rumination and problem solving.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

COinS