Types of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in patients admitted for suicide-related behavior

Dificultades en la regulación emocional de pacientes con trastorno límite de personalidad atendidos en un centro de terapia dialéctico conductual de Medellín, Colombia

La desregulación emocional puede expresarse de distinta manera en el trastorno límite de personalidad (TLP), posiblemente por la influencia del contexto cultural. El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar las dificultades en la regulación emocional en pacientes con TLP que consultan a un centro especializado en Terapia Dialéctico Conductual (DBT) en la ciudad de Medellín, Colombia. Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal con 54 pacientes, principalmente mujeres jóvenes, solteras y de estrato socioeconómico alto con TLP que ingresaron a tratamiento y se les aplicó la “Escala de Dificultades en la Regulación Emocional” (DERS). Se calcularon la mediana (M) y rango intercuartílico (RIQ) y valor de p con la U de Mann-Whitney y el tamaño del efecto (valor r). El puntaje total en la DERS fue alto (M=134; RIQ=117-142). Se encontraron diferencias entre hombres y mujeres, con un tamaño de efecto intermedio (Mmujer=135,5 versus Mhombre=119; p=0,047; r=-0,26). No se encontraron diferencias entre grupos etarios, pero las dificultades en la regulación emocional sí fueron diferentes en los pacientes que cursaban además con TDAH, ansiedad, depresión y ansiedad combinados, y trastorno bipolar. Esto indicaría que en pacientes de una ciudad de Colombia en tratamiento con DBT, las dificultades en la regulación emocional son altas y parecen ser mayores en las mujeres. La presencia de ansiedad, depresión, TDAH y trastorno bipolar podría influir en la intensidad de la desregulación emocional y en las facetas en la que se manifiesta, lo que sugiere alta variabilidad dentro del diagnóstico.

Measuring the shadows: A systematic review of chronic emptiness in borderline personality disorder

BACKGROUND

Chronic feelings of emptiness is an under-researched symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD), despite indications it may be central to the conceptualisation, course, and outcome of BPD treatment. This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of chronic feelings of emptiness in BPD, identify key findings, and clarify differences between chronic feelings of emptiness and related constructs like depression, hopelessness, and loneliness.

METHOD

A PRISMA guided systematic search of the literature identified empirical studies with a focus on BPD or BPD symptoms that discussed chronic feelings of emptiness or a related construct.

RESULTS

Ninety-nine studies met criteria for inclusion in the review. Key findings identified there were significant difficulties in defining and measuring chronic emptiness. However, based on the studies reviewed, chronic emptiness is a sense of disconnection from both self and others. When experienced at frequent and severe levels, it is associated with low remission for people with BPD. Emptiness as a construct can be separated from hopelessness, loneliness and intolerance of aloneness, however more research is needed to explicitly investigate these experiences. Chronic emptiness may be related to depressive experiences unique to people with BPD, and was associated with self-harm, suicidality, and lower social and vocational function.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

We conclude that understanding chronic feelings of emptiness is central to the experience of people with BPD and treatment focusing on connecting with self and others may help alleviate a sense of emptiness. Further research is required to provide a better understanding of the nature of chronic emptiness in BPD in order to develop ways to quantify the experience and target treatment. Systematic review registration number: CRD42018075602.

Boredom in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Lost Criterion Reconsidered

Difficulty with boredom was eliminated from the formal diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) in 1994 based on significantly limited, unpublished data. However, it is apparent in clinical practice that boredom remains relevant to BPD. This review synthesizes empirical research, with consideration of theoretical accounts, to critically examine the relevance of boredom to BPD. We first briefly review issues in defining and measuring boredom and offer an expanded conceptualization for BPD, which includes the notion of boredom reactivity, before turning to boredom's differentiation from and overlap with feelings of emptiness, with which it was paired prior to its removal from the DSM. We then discuss perspectives on boredom's significance in BPD, briefly touching on its relevance in other personality disorders. We propose a Boredom Cascade Model that articulates how boredom and boredom reactivity interact with identity disturbance and chronic emptiness to create escalating patterns of behavioral dysregulation and make recommendations for research and treatment.

The independent effects of child sexual abuse and impulsivity on lifetime suicide attempts among female patients

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a causal agent in many negative adulthood outcomes, including the risk for life-threatening behaviors such as suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Traumatic events such as CSA may pose risk in the healthy development of cognitive and emotional functioning during childhood. In fact, high impulsivity, a risk factor for suicidal behavior, is characteristic of CSA victims. The current study aims to understand the relations among CSA, impulsivity, and frequency of lifetime suicide attempts among a female patient sample admitted for suicidal behavior. Participants included 177 female patients between the ages of 18 and 63 years admitted at two hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Number of previous suicide attempts and CSA were assessed via structured interviews, while impulsivity was assessed with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). A model of structural equations was employed to evaluate the role of impulsivity in the relation between CSA and suicide attempts. CSA (β=.18, p<.05) and impulsivity (β=.24, p<.05) were associated with the number of previous suicide attempts. However, impulsivity was not significantly associated with CSA (β=.09, p>.05). CSA and impulsivity are independently associated with lifetime suicide attempts among female patients with recent suicidal behavior.