Abstract
Insecure attachment and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are defined by similar affective and interpersonal processes. Individuals diagnosed with BPD, however, represent only a subset of those described as insecurely attached, suggesting that attachment may hold broader relevance for socio-affective functioning. Based on a 21-day ecological momentary assessment protocol in a mixed clinical and community sample (N = 207) oversampled for BPD, we evaluate the discriminant validity of each construct as it influences daily interpersonal interactions. We find that insecure attachment is associated with elevated perceptions of interpersonal disaffiliation and maladaptive strategies for affect regulation, whereas enacted interpersonal hostility is more distinctive for BPD. In a series of sensitivity analyses, we further highlight potential caveats to these findings when studying both constructs concurrently. Together, our results suggest that both insecure attachment and BPD contribute to problematic affective and interpersonal processes, but that they do so at different stages of the unfolding social interaction, which has important implications for their maintenance and treatment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agrawal, H. R., Gunderson, J., Holmes, B. M., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2004). Attachment studies with borderline patients: A review. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 12(2), 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/10673220490447218.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York: Guilford Press.
Campbell, L., Simpson, J. A., Boldry, J., & Kashy, D. A. (2005). Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: The role of attachment anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(3), 510–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.510.
Collins, N. L., Guichard, A. C., Ford, M. B., & Feeney, B. C. (2004). Working models of attachment: New developments and emerging themes. In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 196–239). New York: Guilford Publications.
Critchfield, K. L., Levy, K. N., & Clarkin, J. F. (2004). The relationship between impulsivity, aggression, and impulsive-aggression in borderline personality disorder: An empirical analysis of self-report measures. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18(6), 555–570. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.18.6.555.54795.
Ebner-Priemer, U. W., Houben, M., Santangelo, P., Kleindienst, N., Tuerlinckx, F., Oravecz, Z., Verleysen, G., Van Deun, K., Bohus, M., & Kuppens, P. (2015). Unraveling affective dysregulation in borderline personality disorder: A theoretical model and empirical evidence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 124(1), 186–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000021.
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 350–365. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350.
Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., & Jurist, E. L. (Eds.). (2018). Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self. Routledge.
Gallo, L. C., & Matthews, K. A. (2006). Adolescents' attachment orientation influences ambulatory blood pressure responses to everyday social interactions. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68(2), 253–261.
Gelman, A., Carlin, J. B., Stern, H. S., & Rubin, D. B. (2004). Bayesian analysis. London: Chapman & Hall.
Hepp, J., Lane, S. P., Carpenter, R. W., Niedtfeld, I., Brown, W. C., & Trull, T. J. (2017). Interpersonal problems and negative affect in borderline personality and depressive disorders in daily life. Clinical Psychological Science, 5(3), 470–484. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702616677312.
Hopwood, C. J., Pincus, A. L., & Wright, A. G. C. (2019). The interpersonal situation: Integrating clinical assessment, formulation, and intervention. In D. Samuel & D. Lynam (Eds.), Using basic personality research to inform personality pathology (pp. 94–121). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kafetsios, K., & Nezlek, J. B. (2002). Attachment styles in everyday social interaction. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32(5), 719–735. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.130.
Kiesler, D. J. (1996). Contemporary interpersonal theory and research: Personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. New York City: John Wiley & Sons.
Leary, T. (1957). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality. New York: Ronald Press.
Lenzenweger, M. F., Lane, M. C., Loranger, A. W., & Kessler, R. C. (2007). DSM-IV personality disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Biological Psychiatry, 62(6), 553–564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.09.019.
Levy, K. N. (2005). The implications of attachment theory and research for understanding borderline personality disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 17(4), 959–986. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579405050455.
Levy, K. N., & Blatt, S. J. (1999). Attachment theory and psychoanalysis: Further differentiation within insecure attachment patterns. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 19(4), 541–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/07351699909534266.
Levy, K. N., Meehan, K. B., Weber, M., Reynoso, J., & Clarkin, J. F. (2005). Attachment and borderline personality disorder: Implications for psychotherapy. Psychopathology, 38(2), 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1159/000084813.
Levy, K. N., Clarkin, J. F., Yeomans, F. E., Scott, L. N., Wasserman, R. H., & Kernberg, O. F. (2006a). The mechanisms of change in the treatment of borderline personality disorder with transference focused psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(4), 481–501. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20239
Levy, K. N., Meehan, K. B., Kelly, K. M., Reynoso, J. S., Weber, M., Clarkin, J. F., & Kernberg, O. F. (2006b). Change in attachment patterns and reflective function in a randomized control trial of transference-focused psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(6), 1027–1040. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.1027.
Linehan, M. M. (2018). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford Publications.
Lyons-Ruth, K., Yellin, C., Melnick, S., & Atwood, G. (2005). Expanding the concept of unresolved mental states: Hostile/helpless states of mind on the adult attachment interview are associated with disrupted mother-infant communication and infant disorganization. Development and Psychopathology, 17(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050017.
Meyer, B., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2004). An attachment model of personality disorders. In J. F. Clarkin & M. F. Lenzenweger (Eds.), Major theories of personality disorder (2nd ed., pp. 231–281). New York: Guilford.
Meyer, B., Pilkonis, P. A., & Beevers, C. G. (2004). What’s in a (neutral) face? Personality disorders, attachment styles, and the appraisal of ambiguous social cues. Journal of Personality Disorders, 18(4), 320–336. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.18.4.320.40344.
Meyer, B., Pilkonis, P. A., Proietti, J. M., Heape, C. L., & Egan, M. (2001). Attachment styles and personality disorders as predictors of symptom course. Journal of Personality Disorders, 15(5), 371–389. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.15.5.371.19200.
Milyavskaya, M., & Lydon, J. E. (2013). Strong but insecure: Examining the prevalence and correlates of insecure attachment bonds with attachment figures. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30(5), 529–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407512461200.
Miskewicz, K., Fleeson, W., Arnold, E. M., Law, M. K., Mneimne, M., & Furr, R. M. (2015). A contingency-oriented approach to understanding borderline personality disorder: Situational triggers and symptoms. Journal of Personality Disorders, 29(4), 486–502. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2015.29.4.486.
Moskowitz, D. S. (1994). Cross-situational generality and the interpersonal circumplex. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(5), 921–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.5.921.
Muthén, L., & Muthén, B. (2019). Mplus User’s Guide (1998–2019). Muthén & Muthén: Los Angeles, CA.
Pfohl, B., Blum, N., & Zimmerman, M. (1997). Structured interview for DSM-IV personality: Sidp-IV. American Psychiatric Pub.
Pietromonaco, P. R., & Barrett, L. F. (1997). Working models of attachment and daily social interactions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 1409–1423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.6.1409.
Pilkonis, P. A., Kim, Y., Proietti, J. M., & Barkham, M. (1996). Scales for personality disorders developed from the inventory of interpersonal problems. Journal of Personality Disorders, 10(4), 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1996.10.4.355.
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., MacCallum, R. C., & Nicewander, W. A. (2005). Use of the extreme groups approach: A critical reexamination and new recommendations. Psychological Methods, 10(2), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.10.2.178.
Putnam, K. M., & Silk, K. R. (2005). Emotion dysregulation and the development of borderline personality disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 17(4), 899–925. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579405050431.
Sadikaj, G., Moskowitz, D. S., & Zuroff, D. C. (2011). Attachment-related affective dynamics: Differential reactivity to others’ interpersonal behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(5), 905–917. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022875.
Sadikaj, G., Moskowitz, D. S., Russell, J. J., Zuroff, D. C., & Paris, J. (2013). Quarrelsome behavior in borderline personality disorder: Influence of behavioral and affective reactivity to perceptions of others. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(1), 195–207. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030871.
Scott, L. N., Stepp, S. D., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2014). Prospective associations between features of borderline personality disorder, emotion dysregulation, and aggression. Personality Disorders, Theory, Research, and Treatment, 5(3), 278–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000070.
Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Goldberg, S., Kroonenberg, P. M., & Frenkel, O. J. (1992). The relative effects of maternal and child problems on the quality of attachment: A meta-analysis of attachment in clinical samples. Child Development, 63(4), 840–858. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131237.
Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1999). The PANAS-X: Manual for the positive and negative affect schedule-expanded form.
Wiggins JS. Agency and communion as conceptual coordinates for the understanding and measurement of interpersonal behavior. In: Cicchetti D, Grove WM, editors. Thinking clearly about psychology: Essays in honor of Paul E. Meehl, Vol. 2: Personality and psychopathology. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press; 1991. pp. 89–113.
Wright, A. G., Pincus, A., & Hopwood, C. J. (2020, June 28). Contemporary integrative interpersonal theory: Integrating structure, dynamics, temporal scale, and levels of analysis. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/fknc8.
Wright, A. G., Stepp, S. D., Scott, L. N., Hallquist, M. N., Beeney, J. E., Lazarus, S. A., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2017). The effect of pathological narcissism on interpersonal and affective processes in social interactions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126(7), 898–910. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000286.
Zanarini, M. C., Vujanovic, A. A., Parachini, E. A., Boulanger, J. L., Frankenburg, F. R., & Hennen, J. (2003). A screening measure for BPD: The McLean screening instrument for borderline personality disorder (MSI-BPD). Journal of Personality Disorders, 17(6), 568–573. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.17.6.568.25355.
Funding
This research and the efforts of the authors were supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH056888, Pilkonis; L30 MH101760, Wright; K01 MH109859, Beeney; K01 MH101289, Scott). The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and not those of the funding source.
Data AvailabilityThe study reported in this article was not formally preregistered. All data and materials have been made publicly available via the Open Science Framework (OSF) and can be accessed at https://osf.io/de246/.
Conflict of InterestsThe authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical ApprovalAll procedures were approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (Protocol #12030125).
Informed ConsentInformed consent were obtained after a detailed study explanation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling Editor: David Almeida
Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM 1
(DOCX 80 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaurin, A., Beeney, J.E., Stepp, S.D. et al. Attachment and Borderline Personality Disorder: Differential Effects on Situational Socio-Affective Processes. Affec Sci 1, 117–127 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00017-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00017-7