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Personality disorder and future-directed thinking in parasuicide.
Andrew K MacLeod1, Philip Tata, Peter Tyrer
1Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom. a.macleod@rhul.ac.uk
Journal of Personality Disorders
|November 3, 2004
Summary
Individuals with Cluster B personality disorders exhibit significantly lower positive future-thinking. This finding highlights the crucial role of personality status in shaping future outlook among repeat parasuicide patients.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Parasuicide is frequently associated with a deficit in positive future expectations.
- Understanding factors influencing future-thinking is crucial for therapeutic interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how personality status affects positive future-thinking in repeat parasuicide patients.
- To explore the relationship between personality disorders and future-thinking deficits.
Main Methods:
- Assessed 442 repeat parasuicide patients for positive and negative future-thinking.
- Evaluated the presence of personality disorder or personality difficulty.
- Analyzed future-thinking variations based on personality clusters (A, B, C).
Main Results:
- Patients with Cluster B personality disorder (borderline, dissocial) showed significantly reduced positive future-thinking compared to those without.
- No significant association was found between Cluster A or Cluster C symptomatology and positive future-thinking.
- Negative future-thinking did not correlate significantly with any personality disorder or difficulty.
Conclusions:
- Personality status significantly influences positive future-thinking in parasuicide patients.
- Cluster B personality disorders may contribute to the high rates of recurrent self-harm due to impaired future outlook.
- Targeting personality factors could be key in improving future expectations and reducing self-harm behaviors.