Humor styles moderate borderline personality traits and suicide ideation.
The way individuals use humor to interact interpersonally has been associated with general personality, depression, and suicidality. Certain humor styles may moderate the risk for suicide ideation (SI) in individuals who are high in specific risk factors (e.g., thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness). Previous research suggests a relationship between humor styles and borderline personality disorder (BPD) and an increased risk of suicidality and suicide completion in individuals with BPD. Participants (n =176) completed measures of BPD traits, SI, and humor styles. It was hypothesized that BPD traits would be positively correlated with negative humor styles and negatively correlated with positive humor styles, and that humor styles would significantly moderate BPD traits and SI. Results showed that BPD traits were negatively correlated with self-enhancing humor styles and positively correlated with self-defeating humor styles, but that they were not significantly correlated with affiliative or aggressive humor styles. Bootstrapping analyses demonstrated that the affiliative, self-enhancing, and self-defeating humor styles significantly moderated BPD traits and SI, while the aggressive humor style did not.
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States.
Neil A
NA
Meyer
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States.
Ashley C
AC
Helle
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States.
Raymond P
RP
Tucker
Department of Psychology, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
Gregory J
GJ
Lengel
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States.
Hilary L
HL
DeShong
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States.
LaRicka R
LR
Wingate
Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. Electronic address: stephanie.sweatt@okstate.edu.
Stephanie N
SN
Mullins-Sweatt
D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D012307:Risk Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic / Q000523:psychology*
Borderline personality disorder; Humor; Maladaptive personality; Suicide ideation