Evidence that specific personal relationships evoke maladaptive personality expression.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Relational Regulation Theory (RRT) posits that social network members aid in regulating affect, thought, and action.
• Previous research indicates personality and affect expression vary based on social context and network members.
• The DSM-5 dimensional trait model identifies maladaptive personality traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the application of Relational Regulation Theory (RRT) to maladaptive personality traits.
• To examine how social network members influence the expression of maladaptive personality dimensions and affect.
• To explore the relationship between interpersonal characteristics of network members and maladaptive personality expression.

Main Methods:

• Survey study involving 719 college students.
• Participants rated their expression of maladaptive personality dimensions and affect in the presence of important network members.
• Participants also rated the interpersonal characteristics of these network members.

Main Results:

• Maladaptive personality expression showed consistency across network members (recipient effects) but also varied significantly depending on the specific network member (dyadic effects).
• Negative affectivity (PID-5 and PANAS) was more strongly associated with dyadic effects, while antagonism and disinhibition were more strongly associated with recipient effects.
• Network members evoking maladaptive expressions were perceived as unsupportive, conflict-evoking, and associated with attachment anxiety and avoidance, though these interpersonal constructs were largely redundant in prediction.

Conclusions:

• Important personal relationships can indeed evoke the expression of maladaptive personality traits.
• Findings support the role of social networks in shaping personality expression, particularly maladaptive traits.
• The study highlights the interplay between relational dynamics and individual personality manifestation.