Affective Touch, Emotion Regulation, and the Continuum of Psychopathology: From Borderline Traits to Psychosis...

Affective touch plays a major role in emotional development, and deficits may be linked to later psychological difficulties. Past research has shown that emotion dysregulation and dissociation are common in both borderline personality traits and psychosis proneness. This study explored the relationship between childhood affective touch, borderline traits, and psychosis proneness, with emotion dysregulation and dissociation as mediators. It also examined whether dissociation would mediate the link between borderline personality features and psychosis proneness. A sample of 206 participants completed online self-report measures assessing childhood affective touch, emotion dysregulation, dissociative experiences, borderline traits, and psychosis proneness. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations, multiple regression, and PROCESS Model 6. Childhood affective touch was indirectly linked to both borderline traits and psychosis proneness through emotion dysregulation and dissociation. Direct effects were not significant, supporting full mediation. Furthermore, dissociation significantly mediated the relationship between borderline personality features and psychosis proneness. Results suggest that early affective touch problems may contribute to psychological outcomes through effects on emotion regulation and dissociation. Future research should include clinical samples and a longitudinal design to better understand these pathways.