title: A Contingency-Oriented Approach to Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder: Situational Triggers and Symptoms.
abstract: This article tested a contingency-oriented perspective to examine the dynamic relationships between in-the-moment borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptom events and in-the-moment triggers. An experience sampling study with 282 adults, including 77 participants with BPD, obtained reports of situational triggers and BPD symptom events five times daily for 2 weeks. Triggers included being rejected, betrayed, abandoned, offended, and disappointed; having one's self-concept threatened; being in a boring situation; and being alone. BPD was associated with increased situational triggers. Multilevel models revealed significant within-person associations between situational triggers and BPD symptoms for the average participant in the study, with significant individual variance in the strength and direction of trigger-symptom contingencies. Most trigger-symptom contingencies were stronger for individuals with greater borderline symptomatology, suggesting that triggers are meaningfully related to BPD. These findings highlight possible proximal mechanisms that maintain BPD and help explain the course of a disorder often described as chaotic and unpredictable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miskewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fleeson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Mayfield
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.affiliation: Western State Hospital, Staunton, Virginia.
authors.forename: Mary Kate
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Law
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University.
authors.forename: Malek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mneimne
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University.
authors.forename: R Michael
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Furr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception