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Emotion Dysregulation in Personality Disorders

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This manuscript aims to take stock of emotion dysregulation and personality disorder (PD) research, review key findings, and highlight future directions.

Recent Findings

Most emotion dysregulation research in PDs has focused on borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is characterized by high baseline negative emotion and the use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, but several other emotion dysregulation components may not be pervasively evident in the disorder. Trends in the BPD field that add nuance to the study of emotion dysregulation suggest that BPD may involve problems in the flexible, contextually based selection/implementation of emotion regulation strategies, as well as the development of appropriate emotion regulatory goals. Furthermore, relational stressors may elicit and maintain emotion dysregulation in BPD. Less research has examined emotion dysregulation in other PDs, but several PDs may involve deficits in emotional processes (e.g., lower behavioral inhibition and resistance of emotion-related impulses), particularly in interpersonal contexts.

Summary

Emotion dysregulation is a nuanced and contextual problem which, for some PDs, may be particularly nested within interpersonal contexts. The BPD field and the increasing nuance of the study of emotion dysregulation within it points to key future research directions for the broader PD field.

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Data Availability

This manuscript involved reviewing existing literature rather than original data collection, and therefore no original data pertaining to this work is available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Skye Fitzpatrick

  2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA

    Katherine L. Dixon-Gordon

  3. Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Cassandra J. Turner, Spencer X. Chen & Alexander Chapman

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Correspondence to Skye Fitzpatrick.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Fitzpatrick has been P.I. on grants relating to treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and regularly gives trainings on BPD treatment. Dr. Dixon-Gordon has been P.I. on grants relating to treatment for BPD, regularly gives trainings and workshops on dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and has co-authored books on BPD and DBT for which she receives royalties. Dr. Chapman has been P.I. on grants relating to treatment for BPD, regularly gives trainings and workshops on DBT, and has authored and co-authored books on BPD and DBT for which he receives royalties.

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Fitzpatrick, S., Dixon-Gordon, K.L., Turner, C.J. et al. Emotion Dysregulation in Personality Disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep 25, 223–231 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-023-01418-8

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