title: Undifferentiated negative affect and impulsivity in borderline personality and depressive disorders: A momentary perspective.
abstract: Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report experiencing several negative emotions simultaneously, an indicator of "undifferentiated" negative affect. The current study examined the relationship between undifferentiated negative affect and impulsivity. Participants with a current BPD (n = 67) or depressive disorder (DD; n = 38) diagnosis carried an electronic diary for 28 days, reporting on emotions and impulsivity when randomly prompted (up to 6 times per day). Undifferentiated negative affect was quantified using momentary intraclass correlation coefficients, which indicated how consistently negative emotion items were rated across fear, hostility, and sadness subscales. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion-level, day-level, and across 28 days was used to predict occasion-level impulsivity. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypothesis that undifferentiated negative emotion would be a significant predictor of momentary impulsivity above and beyond levels of overall negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect at the occasion and day levels were significant predictors of occasion-level impulsivity, but undifferentiated negative affect across the 28-day study period was only marginally significant. Results did not differ depending on BPD or DD status, though individuals with BPD did report significantly greater momentary impulsivity and undifferentiated negative affect. Undifferentiated negative affect may increase risk for impulsivity among individuals with BPD and depressive disorders, and the current data suggest that this process can be relatively immediate as well as cumulative over the course of a day. This research supports the consideration of undifferentiated negative affect as a transdiagnostic construct, but one that may be particularly relevant for those with BPD.
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Tomko
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Sean P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pronove
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.|Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Hayley R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Treloar
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.|Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Whitney C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Marika B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Solhan
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Phillip K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Trull
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult