Borderline Personality Disorder and the Effects of Instructed Emotional Avoidance or Acceptance in Daily Life.
This study examined the effects of avoidance- versus acceptance-oriented emotion regulation instructions among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n = 48), major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 54), and non-psychiatric controls (NPC; n = 50) using ecological momentary assessment. Participants were randomly assigned to either accept or avoid negative emotions, and monitored their moods, urges, and distress tolerance several times per day over 6 days. Avoidance instructions resulted in reduced negative affect and urges for maladaptive behaviors uniquely among BPD participants. Together with past research, and consistent with treatment approaches emphasizing the short-term use of skills to avoid or distract from emotions (e.g., DBT; Linehan, 1993b, 2015), these findings suggest that avoidance of negative emotions may have temporary benefits for individuals with BPD. Acceptance-oriented strategies may take longer or may require more extensive training to be beneficial for emotional functioning in everyday life in BPD.
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Alexander L
AL
Chapman
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
M Zachary
MZ
Rosenthal
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Katherine L
KL
Dixon-Gordon
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.|Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Brianna J
BJ
Turner
Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium.
Peter
P
Kuppens
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged