Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire: Mixed Affective Reactions to Social Proximity in Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorders in Daily Life

Social proximity typically helps individuals meet their belongingness needs, but several forms of psychopathology, including borderline and avoidant personality disorders (BPD and APD, respectively) are characterized by social difficulties. This experience-sampling study is one of the first to directly investigate the affective reactions of individuals with BPD and APD (compared with healthy controls [HC]) to social proximity in daily life. We examined both person-level and day-level reactions. At the person level, the rate of social proximity across the diary period was associated with diminished feelings of rejection, isolation, shame, and dissociation in the HC group. In contrast, it was not associated with any affective reaction in the BPD group, and was associated with decreased rejection and isolation on the one hand, but also with increased anxiety in the APD group. At the day level, we used multilevel regression to examine affective reactions when in social proximity. The HC group showed a consistent benefit when in social proximity. In contrast, both PD groups exhibited mixed affective reactions to social proximity; specifically, benefits (increased positive affect, decreased rejection, isolation, and dissociation) were interspersed with costs (increased shame for both PD groups; increased anger for BPD; increased anxiety for APD). The mixed reactions found in both PDs may contribute to the disturbed relationships of individuals with these disorders

Explicit and Inferred Motives for Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Acts and Urges in Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorders

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a perplexing phenomenon that may have differing motives. The present study used experience sampling methods (ESM) which inquired explicitly about the motives for NSSI, but also enabled a temporal examination of the antecedents/consequences of NSSI; these allow us to infer other motives which were not explicitly endorsed. Adults (n = 152, aged 18–65) with borderline personality disorder (BPD), avoidant personality disorder (APD), or no psychopathology participated in a 3-week computerized diary study. We examined 5 classes of explicit motives for engaging in NSSI, finding support primarily for internally directed rather than interpersonally directed ones. We then used multilevel regression to examine changes in affect, cognition, and behavior surrounding moments of NSSI acts/urges compared with control moments (i.e., without NSSI). We examined changes in 5 scales of inferred motives, designed to correspond to the 5 classes of explicit motives. The results highlight differing motives for NSSI among individuals with BPD and APD, with some similarities (mostly in the explicit motives) and some differences (mostly in the inferred motives) between the disorders. Despite their infrequent explicit endorsement, fluctuations in interpersonally oriented scales were found surrounding NSSI acts/urges. This highlights the need to continue attending to interpersonal aspects of NSSI in research and in clinical practice. Additionally, NSSI urges, like acts, were followed by decline in affective/interpersonal distress (although in a delayed manner). Thus, interventions that build distress tolerance and enhance awareness for affective changes, and for antecedent/consequence patterns in NSSI, could help individuals resist the urge to self-injure

“Shake It Baby, Shake It”: Media Preferences, Sexual Attitudes and Gender Stereotypes Among Adolescents

In this study exposure to and preferences for three important youth media (TV, music styles/music TV, internet) were examined in relation to adolescents’ permissive sexual attitudes and gender stereotypes (i.e., views of men as sex-driven and tough, and of women as sex objects). Multivariate structural analysis of data from a school-based sample of 480 13 to 16-year-old Dutch students revealed that preferences, rather than exposure were associated with attitudes and stereotypes. For both girls and boys, preferences for hip-hop and hard-house music were associated positively with gender stereotypes and preference for classical music was negatively associated with gender stereotypes. Particularly for boys, using internet to find explicit sexual content emerged as a powerful indicator of all attitudes and stereotypes

Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner’s ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person’s own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships

Which features of repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal predict depression?: An in depth investigation using artificial neural networks with feature selection

Emotion regulation habits have long been implicated in risk for depression. However, research in this area traditionally adopts an approach that ignores the multifaceted nature of emotion regulation strategies, the clinical heterogeneity of depression, and potential differential relations between emotion regulation features and individual symptoms. To address limitations associated with the dominant aggregate-level approach, this study aimed to identify which features of key emotion regulation strategies are most predictive and when those features are most predictive of individual symptoms of depression across different time lags. Leveraging novel developments in the field of machine learning, artificial neural network models with feature selection were estimated using data from 460 participants who participated in a twenty-wave longitudinal study with weekly assessments. At each wave, participants completed measures of repetitive negative thinking, positive reappraisal, perceived stress, and depression symptoms. Results revealed that specific features of repetitive negative thinking (wondering “why can’t I get going?” and having thoughts or images about feelings of loneliness) and positive reappraisal (looking for positive sides) were important indicators for detecting various depressive symptoms, above and beyond perceived stress. These features had overlapping and unique predictive relations with individual cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms. Examining temporal fluctuations in the predictive utility, results showed that the utility of these emotion regulation features was stable over time. These findings illuminate potential pathways through which emotion regulation features may confer risk for depression and help to identify actionable targets for its prevention and treatment

Which features of repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal predict depression?:An in depth investigation using artificial neural networks with feature selection

Emotion regulation habits have long been implicated in risk for depression. However, research in this area traditionally adopts an approach that ignores the multifaceted nature of emotion regulation strategies, the clinical heterogeneity of depression, and potential differential relations between emotion regulation features and individual symptoms. To address limitations associated with the dominant aggregate-level approach, this study aimed to identify which features of key emotion regulation strategies are most predictive and when those features are most predictive of individual symptoms of depression across different time lags. Leveraging novel developments in the field of machine learning, artificial neural network models with feature selection were estimated using data from 460 participants who participated in a twenty-wave longitudinal study with weekly assessments. At each wave, participants completed measures of repetitive negative thinking, positive reappraisal, perceived stress, and depression symptoms. Results revealed that specific features of repetitive negative thinking (wondering “why can’t I get going?” and having thoughts or images about feelings of loneliness) and positive reappraisal (looking for positive sides) were important indicators for detecting various depressive symptoms, above and beyond perceived stress. These features had overlapping and unique predictive relations with individual cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms. Examining temporal fluctuations in the predictive utility, results showed that the utility of these emotion regulation features was stable over time. These findings illuminate potential pathways through which emotion regulation features may confer risk for depression and help to identify actionable targets for its prevention and treatment

Emotion regulation and self-criticism in children and adolescence: Longitudinal networks of transdiagnostic risk factors

Adolescence is a time of heightened risk for the development of psychopathology. Difficulties in emotion regulation and heightened levels of self-criticism are two processes that have been proposed as critical risk factors. Considering the accumulating evidence that risk factors rarely work in isolation, there is a pressing need to examine how self-criticism and emotion regulations strategies interact. The present study utilizes a network analysis approach to address this goal. One-hundred and thirty-five children and adolescence (ages 8-15) completed daily-diaries every evening for 21 days (total N of assessments = 2564), reporting self-criticism and use of emotion regulation strategies focused on negative and positive emotions. Network analysis was applied to estimate contemporaneous, temporal, and between-person networks. Results show that emotion regulation strategies are generally positively associated with each other at the within and between individual levels. As predicted, self-criticism was positively associated with rumination and dampening at the between and within-person networks; unexpectedly, problem-solving also clustered with them in the contemporaneous network. Moreover, problem-solving led to next-day increases in rumination and dampening, whereas self-criticism led to next-day increases in rumination but decreases in dampening. Finally, distraction in response to negative affect was closely tied with strategies that up-regulate positive affect. Collectively, these results shed light on the complex pathways through which self-criticism and emotion regulation interact over time

Emotion regulation and self-criticism in children and adolescence:Longitudinal networks of transdiagnostic risk factors

Adolescence is a time of heightened risk for the development of psychopathology. Difficulties in emotion regulation and heightened levels of self-criticism are two processes that have been proposed as critical risk factors. Considering the accumulating evidence that risk factors rarely work in isolation, there is a pressing need to examine how self-criticism and emotion regulations strategies interact. The present study utilizes a network analysis approach to address this goal. One-hundred and thirty-five children and adolescence (ages 8–15) completed daily-diaries every evening for 21 days (total N of assessments = 2564), reporting self-criticism and use of emotion regulation strategies focused on negative and positive emotions. Network analysis was applied to estimate contemporaneous, temporal, and between-person networks. Results show that emotion regulation strategies are generally positively associated with each other at the within and between individual levels. As predicted, self-criticism was positively associated with rumination and dampening at the between and within-person networks; unexpectedly, problem-solving also clustered with them in the contemporaneous network. Moreover, problem-solving led to next-day increases in rumination and dampening, whereas self-criticism led to next-day increases in rumination but decreases in dampening. Finally, distraction in response to negative affect was closely tied with strategies that up-regulate positive affect. Collectively, these results shed light on the complex pathways through which self-criticism and emotion regulation interact over time

All's well that ends well? A test of the peak‐end rule in couples’ conflict discussions

Despite its importance for well-being, surprisingly little is known about what determines how couples feel after a conflict. Using the peak-end rule, we examined whether partners' post-conflict affect was mainly predicted by their most aversive or pleasant emotional experience (peaks) during the conflict, or by the emotional tone at the end of the interaction. One hundred and one couples engaged in a conflict interaction and afterwards evaluated their momentary affect during the interaction. Post-conflict affect (in terms of positive and negative feelings, and perceived partner responsiveness) was assessed immediately after the conflict, after a subsequent positive discussion, and upon returning to daily life (here, rumination about the relationship was assessed as well). Our results showed that the negative and positive peaks, but not the end emotion, predicted immediate and partly extended post-conflict affect in individuals. This finding has clinical implications for the mediation of couple conflict

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Mediates the Association Between Sexual and Marital Satisfaction: A Daily Diary Study in Newlywed Couples

Sexuality is an integral part of intimate relationships, yet surprisingly little is known about how and for whom sexuality matters. The present research investigated the interplay of sexual and non-sexual factors that contribute to relationship satisfaction. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that the association between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction is mediated by a non-sexual factor-namely, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). Additionally, we tested the role of gender as a possible moderator of this mediated association. Thirty-four newlywed couples completed diaries with each spouse reporting their sexual satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and PPR every day for 30 days. We tested our predictions at both the person level (i.e., the mean level across 30 days) and the daily level. At the person level, we found that sexual satisfaction and PPR separately predicted marital satisfaction. Moreover, the effect of sexual satisfaction on marital satisfaction was partially mediated by PPR. No gender differences emerged at this level. At the daily level, we found similar support for partial mediation. However, at this level, gender did serve as a moderator. The stronger mediation found for women was driven by a stronger association between sexual satisfaction and PPR for women than for men. This study joins a growing literature highlighting the role of PPR in dyadic relationships.status: publishe