Emotion differentiation and intimate partner violence: Effects of provocation and alcohol intoxication.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the impact of relational provocation on intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration as a function of alcohol intoxication and individuals' emotion differentiation (ED; i.e., the ability to differentiate between positive and negative emotions). We hypothesized that provocation and acute intoxication would be associated with lower ED, such that individuals would demonstrate lower ED following provocation and while intoxicated. We also hypothesized an intoxication-by-ED interaction, such that only individuals who were intoxicated and undifferentiated would perpetrate IPV. METHOD: Two hundred fifty community-based adults completed an aggression paradigm ostensibly with their romantic partners where they were randomly assigned to an alcohol or no-alcohol condition. Participants' ED across positive and negative subscales was calculated at baseline (Time 1), postprovocation and intoxication (Time 2), and postbehavioral aggression (Time 3). IPV was operationalized as the strength and duration of shocks issued to their partner during the aggression paradigm. RESULTS: Both sober and intoxicated participants experienced lower ED following provocation, suggesting a main effect of provocation but no main effect of intoxication. There was a significant alcohol-by-ED interaction in the predicted direction. For intoxicated participants, low ED was associated with greater IPV perpetration. For sober participants, low ED was associated with less IPV perpetration. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with hypotheses, low ED is associated with greater IPV perpetration among intoxicated individuals. In contrast to prior research, low ED was associated with less IPV perpetration among sober individuals. Alcohol-related cognitive impairments may increase the likelihood of IPV perpetration by disrupting the ED process that may otherwise inhibit impulsive aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The roles of personality traits and close social contact in the expression of momentary borderline personality disorder symptoms in daily life.

Dimensional models of personality, such as the five-factor model (FFM), have demonstrated strong coherence with the presentation of personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder (BPD). Given that select personality trait elevations have been linked to impairments in multiple life domains across diagnostic groups, we sought to replicate findings from a previous investigation of the utility of the FFM in predicting BPD-relevant outcomes (i.e., negative affect intensity and instability, impulsivity, and interpersonal disagreements) in the daily lives of those with BPD (Hepp et al., 2016) and community participants. As interpersonal context is instrumental in determining the strength of effects observed in studies examining individuals with BPD, we utilized ecological momentary assessment across 3 weeks (6 times daily; ntotal = 15,889) to test whether close social contact (CSC) would moderate the effects of personality on momentary outcomes. Overall, results suggest that CSC is an important moderator between the effects of personality and daily life outcomes for individuals with BPD (N = 56), but not for community individuals (N = 60). For individuals with BPD, CSC may function as both a protective buffer and a risk factor, depending on outcome. For example, CSC attenuates experience of negative affect intensity for individuals with elevated neuroticism, but CSC may predict more frequent disagreements for individuals who report lower agreeableness. We replicated approximately half of the original study's findings, and results support that FFM personality is predictive of BPD-relevant outcomes broadly. However, interpersonal context is key to understanding these relationships for individuals with BPD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Ruminative responses to interpersonal precipitants mediate borderline personality disorder features' effects on distress reactivity and recovery in daily life.

OBJECTIVE: We tested whether negative interpersonal events (NIEs) precipitate rumination at times of distress in the daily lives of those with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and whether such responses mediate associations between BPD and the reactivity and recovery components of emotion dysregulation. MATERIALS AND METHOD: One hundred twenty-one women completed clinical interviews, survey measures, and a 7-day ecological momentary assessment. RESULTS: Elevated BPD features predicted ruminative response deployment only in the context of NIEs. Though elevated BPD features and NIEs predicted heightened distress reactivity, the indirect effect of BPD on distress reactivity via ruminative responses was conditional on NIE occurrence. Ruminative responses also mediated the conditional effects of BPD features on prolonged recovery from distress; trait rumination served as a second indirect pathway between BPD features and distress recovery. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that though contextual, rumination is a common pathway for emotional hyperarousal and slow recovery from distress for those with elevated BPD features.