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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
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Invalidating Environment and Emotional Vulnerability as Predictors of Maladaptive Daydreaming: A Comparison Across

Julia Celban1,2, Ari Nowacki1, Patrycja Czauderna1

  • 1From Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.

Journal of Personality Disorders
|April 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) predictors vary by borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptom severity. Invalidation from mothers predicted MD in low BPD, while fantasy proneness predicted MD in high BPD.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychopathology

Background:

  • Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) involves excessive fantasy interfering with daily life.
  • Emotion dysregulation is common in both MD and borderline personality disorder (BPD).
  • The biosocial model of BPD may inform MD predictor identification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Identify predictors of MD, including emotional vulnerability, invalidating environments, and fantasy proneness.
  • Compare predictor strengths in individuals with low versus high BPD symptom levels.
  • Investigate the role of maternal invalidation and fantasy proneness in MD.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study with 364 participants.
  • Utilized Pearson correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and regression analyses.
  • Grouped participants based on low and high BPD symptom severity.

Main Results:

  • Maternal invalidation positively predicted MD in the low BPD symptom group.
  • Fantasy proneness positively predicted MD in the high BPD symptom group.
  • Differential predictors of MD emerged based on BPD severity.

Conclusions:

  • MD predictors are influenced by the severity of co-occurring BPD symptoms.
  • Interventions for MD may need tailoring based on BPD symptom levels.
  • Understanding these relationships offers clinical insights for treatment development.
Keywords:
borderline personality disorderemotional vulnerabilityfantasy pronenessinvalidating environmentmaladaptive daydreaming

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