Impulsivity, Rejection Sensitivity, and Reactions to Stressors in Borderline Personality Disorder
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This research investigated baseline impulsivity, rejection sensitivity, and reactions to stressors in individuals with borderline personality disorder compared to healthy individuals and those with avoidant personality disorder. The borderline group showed greater impulsivity than the avoidant and healthy groups both in a delay-discounting task with real monetary rewards and in self-reported reactions to stressors; moreover, these findings could not be explained by co-occurring substance use disorders. Distress reactions to stressors were equally elevated in both personality disorder groups (relative to the healthy group). The borderline and avoidant groups also reported more maladaptive reactions to a stressor of an interpersonal vs. non-interpersonal nature, whereas the healthy group did not. Finally, self-reported impulsive reactions to stressors were associated with baseline impulsivity in the delay-discounting task, and greater self-reported reactivity to interpersonal than non-interpersonal stressors was associated with rejection sensitivity. This research highlights distinct vulnerabilities contributing to impulsive behavior in borderline personality disorder.
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One study indicated higher rejection sensitivity in a sample with Avoidant Personality Disorder compared with Borderline Personality Disorder, but this was non-significant.
“One study indicated higher RS in a sample with Avoidant Personality Disorder compared with BPD, but this was non-significant (Berenson, Gregory, et al., 2016).”
From The link between rejection sensitivity and borderline personality disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2019) · cites this paper as Berenson, Gregory, et al., 2016
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References 51 · Cited by 59
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- Authors
- Berenson, K. R., Gregory, W. E., Glaser, E., Romirowsky, A., Rafaeli, E., Yang, X., & Downey, G.
- Affiliations
- Gettysburg College (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- Bar-Ilan University (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Berenson, Kathy R.
- Venue
- Cognitive Therapy and Research
- Published
- 2016-01-20
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 510-521
- ISSN
- 0147-5916 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2819
- PMC
- PMC5015893
- OpenAlex
- W2285636919
- Cited by
- 59
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 10.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cognitive Therapy and Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College (Gettysburg College) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH081948)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- borderline personality disorder, impulsivity, rejection sensitivity, stressor reactivity, delay discounting, avoidant personality disorder, maladaptive stress response, interpersonal stressors, substance use disorders
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