Preliminary data on an acceptance-based emotion regulation group intervention for deliberate self-harm among women with borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and deliberate self-harm are clinically important conditions for which additional economically and clinically feasible interventions are needed. Literature on both the emotion regulating and experientially avoidant function of self-harm and the role of emotional dysfunction in BPD provided the rationale for developing a group intervention targeting emotion dysregulation among self-harming women with BPD. This study provides preliminary data on the efficacy of this new, 14-week, emotion regulation group intervention, designed to teach self-harming women with BPD more adaptive ways of responding to their emotions so as to reduce the frequency of their self-harm behavior. Participants were matched on level of emotion dysregulation and lifetime frequency of self-harm and randomly assigned to receive this group in addition to their current outpatient therapy (N = 12), or to continue with their current outpatient therapy alone for 14 weeks (N = 10). Results indicate that the group intervention had positive effects on self-harm, emotion dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and BPD-specific symptoms, as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants in the group treatment condition evidenced significant changes over time on all measures, and reached normative levels of functioning on most. While these preliminary results are promising, the study's limitations require their replication in a larger-scale randomized controlled trial.     

The influence of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depression severity on deliberate self-harm

Elaborating on previous studies on emotion regulation and deliberate self-harm (DSH), in the present study we distinguish between strategies of cognitive content (e.g., suicidal cognitions of perceived burdensomeness, helplessness, poor distress tolerance) and cognitive process (e.g., nonacceptance of emotional responses, lack of awareness of emotional responses). Young women who harmed themselves (n = 85) were compared with young women without a history of DSH (n = 93) across a broad range of strategies. Significant group differences were found for all measures, even when depression severity was controlled for. In addition, logistic regression analyses showed that both cognitive content strategies and cognitive process strategies made significant independent contributions to the prediction of group membership. Controlling for depression severity, suicidal cognitions, and nonacceptance of emotional responses independently predicted DSH. The strong association between suicidal cognitions and DSH seems to indicate the important role of these cognitions in recurrent and chronic DSH. The strong association between nonacceptance of emotional responses and DSH underscores the notion that DSH can be a way to avoid emotional problems. These findings are discussed in relation to recent cognitive-behavioral interventions and specific therapeutic techniques to further insight into how these interventions might work.     

Insomnia and eating expectancies among college students: the role of emotion dysregulation

There is limited understanding of the relation between insomnia and aspects of eating among college students though available data suggest salient clinical relationships. The present study explored a potential transdiagnostic mechanism in the relation between insomnia symptoms and eating expectancies. Participants were a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 1589 college students (80.4% females; Mage = 22.2 years, SD = 5.27) from an urban university. Primary analysis included three regression-based models of eating expectancies. Insomnia symptoms served as the predictor, and emotion dysregulation served as the indirect (mediator) variable in all models. Results indicated that insomnia symptoms yielded a significant indirect effect through emotion dysregulation on expectancies of eating to help manage negative affect, alleviate boredom, and lead to feeling out of control. Students experiencing insomnia symptoms may be at higher risk for experiencing dysregulated emotions and consequently maladaptive eating expectancies compared to good sleepers.     

The relationship between Facebook and the well-being of undergraduate college students

We investigated how Facebook use and attitudes relate to self-esteem and college adjustment, and expected to find a positive relationship between Facebook and social adjustment, and a negative relationship between Facebook, self-esteem, and emotional adjustment. We examined these relationships in first-year and upper-class students and expected to find differences between the groups. Seventy undergraduate students completed Facebook measures (time, number of friends, emotional and social connection to Facebook), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Student Adaptation to College Scale. First-year students had a stronger emotional connection to and spent more time on Facebook while they reported fewer friends than upper-class students did. The groups did not differ in the adjustment scores. The number of Facebook friends potentially hinders academic adjustment, and spending a lot of time on Facebook is related to low self-esteem. The number of Facebook friends was negatively associated with emotional and academic adjustment among first-year students but positively related to social adjustment and attachment to institution among upper-class students. The results suggest that the relationship becomes positive later in college life when students use Facebook effectively to connect socially with their peers. Lastly, the number of Facebook friends and not the time spent on Facebook predicted college adjustment, suggesting the value of studying further the notion of Facebook friends.     

The relationship between schizotypal and obsessive-compulsive features in university students

Comorbid schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is relatively common in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some have argued, however, that the severity of the primary disorder results in inflated estimates of personality disorder. The present investigation explored the possibility that schizotypal features are also significantly related to obsessive-compulsive features in a nonclinical sample. One-hundred and ninety-two student volunteers completed the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the latter being a self-report inventory designed to tap all nine features of DSM-III-R SPD. Correlations between schizotypal and obsessive-compulsive features were strongest for compulsive checking as opposed to compulsive washing, slowness or doubting. Regression analyses revealed that only the MOCI checking subscale was a significant independent predictor of the total SPQ schizotypal score. Findings indicate that schizotypal features are also found in association with nonclinical levels of obsessive-compulsive features, particularly checking behaviors. The influence of gender on these findings are discussed.     

The relationship between the living arrangements of university students and their identity development

One of the developmental challenges facing the emerging adult is to live independently of his/her family of origin. Research has shown that the living arrangements of late adolescents/young adults also affect aspects of their personal development. This study examined the relationship between university students' living arrangements, their identity development status, the degree of life difficulties experienced, and the manner in which they coped with their difficulties. In general, it was found that those who did not reside in their parents' home had greater levels of problems but also used more direct, problem-focused coping strategies than did those who resided at home. Individuals residing away from their parents were also more likely to have established an adult identity, whereas those who resided with their parents were more likely to be still in the process of developing an adult identity.     

The differential relationship between attribution and depression for male and female college students

This study tested for the presence of a differential relationship between attribution and depression for male and female college students. Results yielded no significant differences within male or female positive or negative internality, stability, globality, or composite attribution scores. However, a significant correlation was found between Attributional Style Questionnaire composite negative and Beck Depression Inventory scores for males, but not for females.     

The relationship between interaction patterns and agoraphobic fears among college students

In the present study, we investigated the relationships between self-reports of agoraphobic-like anxiety (fear of open, crowded places), panic experiences, childhood separation anxiety, and family interaction patterns in a college student population. The research was conducted in two parts. Correlational analyses of the results of Study 1 revealed significant relationships between anxiety, difficulties in managing life transitions, and measures of family interaction (intergenerational and peer individuation, intergenerational and peer intimacy) as measured by the Personal Authority in the Family System (Questionnaire (Williamson, Bay, Harvey, & Malone, 1985). In Study 2, we observed significant correlations between agoraphobic anxiety and measures of childhood separation anxiety, state and trait anxiety, and patterns of family enmeshment. The results were interpreted in the context of a broad perspective, which includes the role of developmental and interactional variables in the onset and maintenance of agoraphobic anxiety.     

The mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students

The objectives of this study were to examine the correlations between big five personality traits and depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduate medical students, and to explore the mediating role of self-esteem on the correlations. Self-reported questionnaires, including Big Five Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale, and socio-demographic section were distributed to 2000 undergraduate medical students at four medical colleges and universities in Liaoning province, China, in June 2014. 1738 students became the final subjects. After adjustment for age and gender, agreeableness (β = −0.329) and openness (β = −0.096) were negatively related to depressive symptoms, while neuroticism (β = 0.245) was positively related to the symptoms. Self-esteem functioned as a mediator in the relationship between agreeableness (a * b = −0.154, 95% CI: −0.182, −0.127)/openness (a * b = −0.097, 95% CI: −0.124, −0.069)/neuroticism (a * b = 0.031, 95% CI: 0.007, 0.058) and depressive symptoms. Therefore, identifying at-risk students and undertaking appropriate intervention strategies that focus on both personality traits and self-esteem may be effective in preventing and reducing depressive symptoms among Chinese medical students.     

The relationship between puberty and social emotion processing

The social brain undergoes developmental change during adolescence, and pubertal hormones are hypothesized to contribute to this development. We used fMRI to explore how pubertal indicators (salivary concentrations of testosterone, oestradiol and DHEA; pubertal stage; menarcheal status) relate to brain activity during a social emotion task. Forty‐two females aged 11.1 to 13.7 years underwent fMRI scanning while reading scenarios pertaining either to social emotions, which require the representation of another person’s mental states, or to basic emotions, which do not. Pubertal stage and menarcheal status were used to assign girls to early or late puberty groups. Across the entire sample, the contrast between social versus basic emotion resulted in activity within the social brain network, including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), the posterior superior temporal sulcus, and the anterior temporal cortex (ATC) in both hemispheres. Increased hormone levels (independent of age) were associated with higher left ATC activity during social emotion processing. More advanced age (independent of hormone levels) was associated with lower DMPFC activity during social emotion processing. Our results suggest functionally dissociable effects of pubertal hormones and age on the adolescent social brain.     

Self-efficacy and its relationship with satisfaction with life and happiness among university students

This study set out to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and satisfaction with life and happiness among university students in South Africa. The sample comprised 334 students (female = 222, male = 112, black = 96%, mean age = 23 years). The students completed a general self-efficacy scale, the satisfaction with life scale and the subjective happiness scale. Data were analysed utilising regression approaches to predict students’ satisfaction with life and happiness from self-efficacy. The results revealed higher self-efficacy scores to predict both higher satisfaction with life and happiness in both males and females. Self-efficacy seems to facilitate both satisfaction with life and happiness in general.     

The relationship between self-harm and alexithymia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Self-harm, defined for the purpose of this review as any act of self-injury without explicit suicidal intent, is an increasing public health concern, with potential long-term implications for those who engage in it. Previous research has identified a correlational relationship between self-harm and alexithymia, an emotion processing deficit characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, and an externally orientated thinking style. Through a systematic search of the literature, the current review examines the association between alexithymia and self-harm. A meta-analysis based on 23 studies found a significant, positive relationship between self-harm and alexithymia, with a medium effect size (g = 0.57, 95% CI 0.46–0.69). All 23 studies used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS20) to measure alexithymia. The alexithymia subcomponents difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings were significantly associated with self-harm, but there was no significant association between self-harm and externally orientated thinking. The effect size of the relationship was significantly larger in adolescent samples compared with adult samples and in female compared with male samples. The definition of self-harm did not affect the effect size of the relationship between alexithymia and self-harm and the results are consistent with previous meta-analyses focused more narrowly on non-suicidal self-injury and, separately, suicidal behaviors. Heterogeneity between the included studies was high. The results support an affect regulation model of self-harm, in which self-harm is used to regulate an emotional experience that is poorly understood.     

The selective relationship between religious dimensions and social desirability among Polish students

This study explores the effect of the position of the religious construct-system (central vs. subordinated vs. marginal) in personality on the relationship between social desirability and structure of religiosity, emotion to God and post-critical belief. The sample comprised Polish Students (N?=?200) aged between 19 and 29 years. The Social Desirability Scale, The Structure-of-Religiosity Test and The Post-Critical Belief Scale were employed in the study. The results suggest that religiosity is not associated with social desirability.     

Values and learning approaches of students at an international university

This study indicates that values are statistically significant precursors to approaches to learning in a cohort of predominantly Bulgarian, German and Romanian students studying at a German university where the language of instruction in all subject areas is English. Values have been measured with the Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz et al. 2001), and approaches to learning have been assessed by the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987). The relationships between values and approaches to learning have been estimated by canonical correlation analysis. Results of the analysis suggest that values can be linked to learning approaches in a situation where students have left their home countries to undertake tertiary studies in a new social, cultural and educational environment. Four distinct pairings between values and learning approaches emerge whereby: (a) self-aggrandisement is linked to the achievement learning variable, (b) conservatism relates to the surface learning variable, (c) self-directedness is linked to the deep learning variable and (d) benevolent change is related to the learning strategies variable. The analyses for this research were conducted while the second author was a visiting scholar at the Flinders University Institute of International Education in Adelaide, South Australia. The assistance of Professor John Keeves in the implementation and interpretation of additional statistical analyses is gratefully acknowledged.