Dysfunctional Responses to Emotion Mediate the Cross-Sectional Relationship Between Rejection Sensitivity and Borderline Personality Features

Abstract

A growing body of evidence has tied borderline personality disorder (BPD) to heightened sensitivity to rejection; however, mechanisms through which rejection sensitivity contributes to BPD features have not been identified. Rejection may lead to the dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies common in BPD, such as impulsive responses to distress, anger rumination, difficulties engaging in goal-oriented behavior, nonacceptance of emotions, and low emotional clarity. The present study used self-report measures and bootstrapping procedures to investigate the role of difficulties in emotional regulation in the relationship between rejection sensitivity and borderline personality features in a cross-sectional sample of 410 undergraduates. Difficulties in emotion regulation accounted for significant variance in the relationships between rejection sensitivity and BPD features, with varying sets of deficits in emotion regulation skills accounting for associations with specific BPD features. Potential clinical implications and the need for replication in longitudinal studies are discussed.