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Published on: March 8, 2018
Does maladaptive coping mediate the relationship between borderline personality traits and reactive and proactive
Kathryn Jane Gardner1, John Archer, Sophie Jackson
1School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom. KJGardner@uclan.ac.uk
Borderline personality (BP) traits are linked to aggression in young adults. Maladaptive coping strategies mediate these links, suggesting interventions targeting emotional and avoidant coping may reduce aggression.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Borderline personality (BP) traits are associated with aggression.
- The mediating role of coping strategies in this relationship is not well understood, especially across different age groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between borderline personality traits and reactive/proactive aggression.
- To compare the mediating effects of maladaptive coping in older adolescents and young adults.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Self-report measures for borderline personality traits, reactive and proactive aggression, and coping strategies.
- Analysis of mediation effects in adolescent and young adult samples.
Main Results:
- In young adults, maladaptive emotional coping mediated the BP-reactive aggression link.
- Maladaptive avoidant coping mediated the BP-proactive aggression link in young adults.
- No significant mediation effects were found in the adolescent sample.
Conclusions:
- Maladaptive coping strategies offer potential explanations for the link between borderline personality traits and aggression in young adults.
- Reducing emotional coping may decrease reactive aggression in adults with BP traits.
- Reducing avoidant coping may decrease proactive aggression in adults with BP traits.
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