Affective startle modulation in incarcerated women with borderline personality disorder features

Affective startle modulation was assessed in a sample of Caucasian female offenders classified as exhibiting high levels of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features (n = 19) or low levels of BPD features (n = 43) using the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines-Revised (DIB-R; Zanarini, Gunderson, Frankenburg, & Chauncey, 1989). Contrary to prediction, high-BPD feature participants did not show significantly greater startle blink magnitudes than controls while viewing unpleasant pictures at either a short (2 s) or long (4.5 s) probe time. High-BPD feature participants did show significant blink attenuation while viewing pleasant pictures at the short probe time. The role of attention and the relative specificity of the negative emotion-processing abnormalities exhibited by women with BPD are discussed.