Self-compassion and emotional responses to interpersonal rejection in individuals with borderline personality features
Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to determine whether a self-compassion manipulation has promise in addressing a core interpersonal vulnerability (sensitivity to social rejection) in borderline personality disorder (BPD).Forty-nine participants with high BP features were randomly assigned to complete a state self-compassion writing induction or a neutral control writing task.Participants then experienced self-relevant interpersonal rejection through receiving feedback on personal profile questions from another (fictional) participant.Emotional state was assessed at baseline, pre-manipulation, and post-rejection.Participants in both conditions demonstrated heightened negative affect, hostility, and irritability and reduced positive affect following the rejection.Contrary to hypotheses, participants in the self-compassion group did not demonstrate significantly different changes in positive affect, negative affect, shame, hostility, or irritability compared to participants in the control group.These results suggest that more intensive self-compassion interventions may be critical in future research on BPD and interpersonal difficulties.
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