Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Kate Flory
Abstract
Research has established ACEs as significant predictors of deliberate self-harm (DSH) in both clinical and community populations. Further, adults meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) are nearly 14 times more likely to report childhood adversity. No previous studies have examined the critical roles of emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning as mediating mechanisms in these relations. Thus, the current study explored the mechanism by which ACEs affect borderline personality features (BPF) or deliberate self-harm through emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning in a sample of emerging adult college students. Participants (N = 2,255, M age = 19.25) included college students from seven universities participating in a multisite cross-sectional survey. Participants completed online self-report measures of ACEs as well as measures assessing borderline features, function and frequency of DSH, emotion regulation, and interpersonal functioning. Mediational path analyses revealed partial mediation via the indirect effect of ACEs through emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning on BPF (ab = 0.44 [0.38, 0.51]) and DSH behaviors (ab = 0.11 [0.09, 0.13]). An exploratory analysis revealed the indirect effect of ACEs on BPF when the subscales of limited access to emotion regulation strategies and thwarted belongingness were used as mediators (ab = 0.41 [0.35, 0.47]). Results demonstrated evidence for the causal impact of ACEs on BPF and DSH through emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning.
Rights
© 2024, Sydney Mari Levine
Recommended Citation
Levine, S. M.(2023). Understanding the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Borderline Features and Deliberate Self-Harm Behaviors Among College Students: The Mediating Roles of Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Functioning. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/7633