Borderline Personality Disorder Features, Self-Verification, and Committed Relationships

This article was originally published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. The version of record can be found here: http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.2014.33.5.463This study examines whether self-verification strivings are greater for individuals with elevated features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) than individuals with minimal features of BPD, and whether this is especially true for those in committed romantic relationships. Participants (N = 329) completed an online questionnaire that included an assessment of their: (1) relationship status, (2) degree of BPD traits, (3) social self concept, and (4) preference for negative feedback. Results of the study evinced a negative correlation between social self concept and the preference for negative feedback, replicating prior evidence of self-verification strivings. These strivings, however, were greatest for participants with BPD features who were involved in a relationship compared to participants with BPD features who were not in a relationship or to participants without BPD features. These results suggest that committed, exclusive romantic relationships either exacerbate or fail to meet the self-verification needs of individuals with BPD features. The implications of these findings for our understanding of BPD and for future research are discussed

Baseline Functioning and Stress Reactivity in Maltreating Parents and At-Risk Adults: Review and Meta-Analyses of Autonomic Nervous System Studies.

We reviewed and meta-analyzed 10 studies ( N = 492) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment perpetration and basal autonomic activity, and 10 studies ( N = 471) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment and autonomic stress reactivity. We hypothesized that maltreating parents/at-risk adults would show higher basal levels of heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) and lower levels of HR variability (HRV) and would show greater HR and SC stress reactivity, but blunted HRV reactivity. A narrative review showed that evidence from significance testing within and across studies was mixed. The first set of meta-analyses revealed that (risk for) child maltreatment was associated with higher HR baseline activity ( g = 0.24), a possible indication of allostatic load. The second set of meta-analyses yielded no differences in autonomic stress reactivity between maltreating/at-risk participants and nonmaltreating/low-risk comparison groups. Cumulative meta-analyses showed that positive effects for sympathetic stress reactivity as a risk factor for child maltreatment were found in a few early studies, whereas each subsequently aggregated study reduced the combined effect size to a null effect, an indication of the winner's curse. Most studies were underpowered. Future directions for research are suggested.The study was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (LRAA: VIDI grant; MHvIJ: NWO SPINOZA prize; MJBK: VICI grant), and the Wellcome Trust (WT103343MA).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from SAGE Publications via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077559516659937

Is narcissism associated with child physical abuse risk?

The present study was designed to clarify the associations between covert narcissism, overt narcissism, negative affect, and child physical abuse (CPA) risk. It was hypothesized that covert (but not overt narcissism) would be significantly associated with parental CPA risk and that negative affect would partially mediate this association. General population parents (N = 178; 33 % male) with varying degrees of CPA risk completed self-report measures of covert narcissism, overt narcissism, and negative affect. Results revealed that at the bivariate level, covert narcissism and two subscales of the overt narcissism measure (exploitativeness and entitlement) were significantly correlated with CPA risk. However, when covert narcissism and overt narcissism were considered simultaneously in a regression analysis, only covert narcissism emerged as a significant predictor of CPA risk. Results of a path analysis supported the prediction that negative affect partially mediated the association between covert narcissism and CPA risk. Findings from the present study illustrate the value of assessing both overt and covert narcissistic features in research investigating the role of narcissism in interpersonal violence. Moreover, the results revealed that covert narcissism was associated with CPA risk, even after accounting for their mutual associations with negative affect. Additional research is needed to explicate the other cognitive/affective mechanisms through which covert narcissism increases risk of aggressive parenting behavior.</p

Is narcissism associated with child physical abuse risk?

The present study was designed to clarify the associations between covert narcissism, overt narcissism, negative affect, and child physical abuse (CPA) risk. It was hypothesized that covert (but not overt narcissism) would be significantly associated with parental CPA risk and that negative affect would partially mediate this association. General population parents (N = 178; 33 % male) with varying degrees of CPA risk completed self-report measures of covert narcissism, overt narcissism, and negative affect. Results revealed that at the bivariate level, covert narcissism and two subscales of the overt narcissism measure (exploitativeness and entitlement) were significantly correlated with CPA risk. However, when covert narcissism and overt narcissism were considered simultaneously in a regression analysis, only covert narcissism emerged as a significant predictor of CPA risk. Results of a path analysis supported the prediction that negative affect partially mediated the association between covert narcissism and CPA risk. Findings from the present study illustrate the value of assessing both overt and covert narcissistic features in research investigating the role of narcissism in interpersonal violence. Moreover, the results revealed that covert narcissism was associated with CPA risk, even after accounting for their mutual associations with negative affect. Additional research is needed to explicate the other cognitive/affective mechanisms through which covert narcissism increases risk of aggressive parenting behavior.</p

Assessing Psychological Inflexibility: The Psychometric Properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth in Two Adult Samples

The current study examined whether the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y; L. A. Greco, W. Lambert, & R. A. Baer, 2008), a self-report measure of psychological inflexibility for children and adolescents, might be useful for measuring psychological inflexibility for adults. The psychometric properties of the AFQ-Y were examined using data from a college student sample (N = 387) and a clinical sample of patients with anxiety disorders (N = 115). The AFQ-Y, but not the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; F. W. Bond et al., in press), demonstrated a reading level at or below the recommended 5th or 6th grade reading level. The AFQ-Y also demonstrated adequate reliability (internal consistency), factorial validity, convergent and discriminant validity, and concurrent validity predicting psychological symptoms. Moreover, the AFQ-Y showed incremental validity over the AAQ-II in predicting several psychological symptom domains. Implications for the assessment of psychological inflexibility are discussed

Altered angiogenesis in caveolin-1 gene-deficient mice is restored by ablation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Caveolin-1 is an essential structural protein of caveolae, specialized plasma membrane organelles highly abundant in endothelial cells, where they regulate multiple functions including angiogenesis. Caveolin-1 exerts a tonic inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. Accordingly, caveolin-1 genedisrupted mice have enhanced eNOS activity as well as increased systemic nitric oxide (NO) levels. We hypothesized that excess eNOS activity, secondary to caveolin deficiency, would mediate the decreased angiogenesis observed in caveolin-1 genedisrupted mice. We tested tumor angiogenesis in mice lacking either one or both proteins, using in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo assays. We show that endothelial cell migration, tube formation, cell sprouting from aortic rings, tumor growth, and angiogenesis are all significantly impaired in both caveolin-1null and eNOS-null mice. We further show that these parameters were either partially or fully restored in double knockout mice that lack both caveolin-1 and eNOS. Furthermore, the effects of genetic ablation of eNOS are mimicked by the administration of the NOS inhibitor N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME), including the reversal of the caveolin-1null mouse angiogenic phenotype. This study is the first to demonstrate the detrimental effects of unregulated eNOS activity on angiogenesis, and shows that impaired tumor angiogenesis in caveolin-1null mice is, at least in part, the result of enhanced eNOS activity

Evolution of Telomeres in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Its Possible Relationship to the Diversification of Telomere Binding Proteins

Telomeres of nuclear chromosomes are usually composed of an array of tandemly repeated sequences that are recognized by specific Myb domain containing DNA-binding proteins (telomere-binding proteins, TBPs). Whereas in many eukaryotes the length and sequence of the telomeric repeat is relatively conserved, telomeric sequences in various yeasts are highly variable. Schizosaccharomyces pombe provides an excellent model for investigation of co-evolution of telomeres and TBPs. First, telomeric repeats of S. pombe differ from the canonical mammalian type TTAGGG sequence. Second, S. pombe telomeres exhibit a high degree of intratelomeric heterogeneity. Third, S. pombe contains all types of known TBPs (Rap1p [a version unable to bind DNA], Tay1p/Teb1p, and Taz1p) that are employed by various yeast species to protect their telomeres. With the aim of reconstructing evolutionary paths leading to a separation of roles between Teb1p and Taz1p, we performed a comparative analysis of the DNA-binding properties of both proteins using combined qualitative and quantitative biochemical approaches. Visualization of DNA-protein complexes by electron microscopy revealed qualitative differences of binding of Teb1p and Taz1p to mammalian type and fission yeast telomeres. Fluorescence anisotropy analysis quantified the binding affinity of Teb1p and Taz1p to three different DNA substrates. Additionally, we carried out electrophoretic mobility shift assays using mammalian type telomeres and native substrates (telomeric repeats, histone-box sequences) as well as their mutated versions. We observed relative DNA sequence binding flexibility of Taz1p and higher binding stringency of Teb1p when both proteins were compared directly to each other. These properties may have driven replacement of Teb1p by Taz1p as the TBP in fission yeast