301 presentation1

Thought Suppression and Attachment: Relationship to Borderline Personality Features : 

Thought Suppression and Attachment: Relationship to Borderline Personality Features Andrew Ekblad May 3, 2006 Committee Members: Thomas R. Lynch, Ph.D., Jennifer S. Cheavens, Ph.D., Clive J. Robins, Ph.D.

Borderline Personality Disorder : 

Borderline Personality Disorder Characterized by: Affective dysregulation Behavioral dyscontrol Disturbed interpersonal relatedness Skodol, Gunderson, Pfol, Widiger, Livesley, & Siever, 2002 Assessed with: Modified Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-BPD) Interpersonal sensitivity & Aggressiveness Subscales “I am too sensitive to criticism.” “I lose my temper too easily.” Lejuez, Daughters, Nowak, Lynch, Rosenthal, & Kosson, 2003

Thought Suppression : 

Thought Suppression Thought suppression refers to deliberate attempts to reduce the frequency or intensity of unwanted cognitions. Linked to: High affect intensity Thought suppression BPD features Cheavens et al., 2005; Rosenthal, Cheavens, Lejuez, & Lynch, 2005 Assessed with: White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). “There are many thoughts I have that I don’t tell anyone.” “There are things I try not to think about.” “I often do things to distract myself from my thoughts.” Wegner & Zanakos, 1994).

Attachment : 

Attachment Individuals’ interpersonal experiences with primary caregivers lead to the development of attachment security or insecurity in adulthood (Bowlby, 1969). Attachment difficulties have been associated with: Distress (Wei, Shaffer, Young, & Zakalik, 2005) May be important to consider in the treatment of BPD (Fonagy & Bateman 2006; Gormley, 2004). Attachment difficulties were assessed with: Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (RAQ) “I often feel too dependent on my attachment figure.” “I must have my attachment figure with me when I am upset.” West et al., 1987).

Hypothesis : 

Hypothesis After controlling for anxiety and depression, both chronic thought suppression and attachment difficulties will uniquely and significantly contribute to BPD features. Attachment difficulties and chronic thought suppression will each uniquely and significantly contribute to BPD features over and above the contributions of the other.

Results I: The impact of attachment difficulties on BPD features after controlling for depression, anxiety, and thought suppression : 

Results I: The impact of attachment difficulties on BPD features after controlling for depression, anxiety, and thought suppression BPD BPD BPD Thought Suppression Attachment Difficulties Thought Suppression Step Two Step Three Step One R2? = .12 R2? = .10

Results II: The impact of thought suppression on BPD features after controlling for depression, anxiety, and attachment difficulties : 

Results II: The impact of thought suppression on BPD features after controlling for depression, anxiety, and attachment difficulties BPD BPD BPD Attachment Difficulties Thought Suppression Step Two Step Three Step One R2? = .17 R2? = .05 Attachment Difficulties

Discussion : 

Discussion After controlling for anxiety and depression, both attachment difficulties and chronic thought suppression each uniquely and significantly contribute to BPD features. Additionally, attachment difficulties and chronic thought suppression each uniquely and significantly contribute to BPD features over and above the contributions of the other. Therapeutic interventions designed to reduce thought suppression and attachment difficulties may reduce BPD features.

Limitations : 

Limitations Analogue populations may be appropriate for the assessment of some BPD features, but do not substitute for clinical populations meeting diagnostic criteria for BPD. Use of single self-report questionnaires for both dependent and independent variables. A sample which is largely homogenous in age and education is not representative of all persons who may be experiencing BPD features.

Future Directions : 

Future Directions Thorough diagnostic assessment through self-report and diagnostic interviews should be included in future studies. Future studies should also assess the relationships among attachment and other non-interpersonal aspects of BPD features (i.e., emotion instability and behavioral dyscontrol). Future studies should further examine the specific content of thoughts targeted for suppression by individuals experiencing BPD features.

References : 

References Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1: Attachment. London: Hogarth. Cheavens, J. S., Rosenthal, M. Z., Daughters, S. B., Nowak, J. Kosson, D., Lynch, T. R., & Lejuez, C. W. (2005). An analogue investigation of the relationships among perceived parental criticism, negative affect, and borderline personality disorder features: the role of thought suppression. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 43, 257-268. Fonagy, P., & Bateman, A. W. (2006). Mechanisms of change in mentalization based treatment of BPD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 411-430. Gormley, Barbara. (2004). Application of adult attachment theory to treatment of chronically suicidal, traumatized women. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training. 41, 136-143. Lejuez, C. W., Daughters, S. B., Nowak, J. A., Lynch, T. R., Rosenthal, M. Z., & Kosson, D. (2003). Examining the inventory of interpersonal problems as a tool for conducting analogue studies of mechanisms underlying borderline personality disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 34, 313-324. Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford Press. Rosenthal, M. Z., Cheavens, J. S., Lejuez, C. W., & Lynch, T. R. (2005). Thought suppression mediates the relationship between negative affect and borderline personality disorder symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 1173-1185. Skodol, A. E., Gunderson, J. G., Pfohl, B., Widiger, T. A., Livesley, W. J., & Siever, L. J. (2002). The borderline diagnosis I: Psychopathology, comorbidity, and personality structure. Biological Psychiatry, 51, 936-950. Wegner, D. M., & Zanakos, S. (1994). Chronic thought suppression. Journal of Personality, 62, 615-640. Wei, M., Shaffer, P. A., Young, S. K., & Zakalik, R. A. (2005). Adult attachment, shame, depression, and loneliness: The mediation role of basic psychological needs satisfaction. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 591-601. West, M., Sheldon, A., & Reiffer, L. (1987). An approach to the delineation of adult attachment: Scale development and rehabilitation. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 738- 741.