Referential Activity Differentially Mediates Expression of Positive and Negative Emotions in Borderline Personality...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Linguistics
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a prevalent condition.
• BPD is associated with emotional dysregulation and impaired symbolic capacity.
• Previous research has not concurrently examined emotional expression, referential activity, and reflective functioning in BPD using linguistic narratives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in positive and negative emotional expression, referential activity, and reflective functioning between individuals with BPD and healthy controls.
• To explore the role of referential activity in the context of emotional expression in BPD.
• To compare linguistic features elicited by the Adult Attachment Interview and the Object Relations Inventory in BPD.

Main Methods:

• Employed computerized text analyses to assess emotional expression (positive and negative), referential activity, and reflective functioning.
• Utilized the Weighted Referential Activity Dictionaries and the Computerized Reflective Function dictionary.
• Recruited adult female participants with BPD (n=13) and matched healthy controls (n=14).

Main Results:

• The BPD group showed more frequent negative emotions and less frequent positive emotions on the Object Relations Inventory.
• The BPD group exhibited less positive emotion expression on the Adult Attachment Interview.
• No significant differences in referential activity or reflective functioning were found between groups on either interview.
• BPD status mediated the relationship between referential activity and negative emotion expression.
• Individuals with BPD used more referential activity when expressing negative emotions, while controls used more when expressing positive emotions.

Conclusions:

• Referential activity plays a crucial role in differentiating emotional expression patterns between individuals with BPD and controls.
• The Object Relations Inventory may elicit more salient linguistic features relevant to BPD compared to the Adult Attachment Interview.
• Findings highlight unique linguistic markers of emotional processing in BPD.