Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a severe personality disorder characterized by instability of mood, relationships and self-image as well as impulsive, self-damaging, and suicidal behaviors. One of the more disturbing symptoms of BPD is self-injurious behavior, a symptom that occurs in 50 to 80% of individuals diagnosed with BPD. However, interest in self-harm in the general population, particularly among college-aged individuals, has increased in recent years as researchers have become aware of the increasing prevalence of this phenomenon. Several variables have been found to be associated with self-harm, including BPD symptoms, dissociation, depression, substance abuse, impulsivity and decision-making deficits. However, there has been little investigation of the role of these factors as predictors of self-harm. In addition, although there are gender differences in the prevalence of BPD, depression, and substance abuse, few studies have examined gender differences in self-harm behaviors. The current study sought to determine the predictive value of the aforementioned variables for self-injury in a college-age nonclinical population. College students ( n = 110) completed measures of self-harm, BPD symptoms, impulsivity, decision-making, dissociation, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse. It was hypothesized that individuals reporting increased BPD pathology would report a higher number of self-harm behaviors. It was also hypothesized that each of the other variables would be significant predictors of self-harm, but that there would be different predictors of self-harm in men and women. These hypotheses were generally supported. All of the variables were significantly associated with self-injurious behaviors; however, BPD symptoms, depression, and drug abuse were the only significant predictors of total self-harm, and depression and drug abuse were the only significant predictors of self-injurious behaviors in the past year. Gender differences in predictors of self-harm were also found. However, contrary to the hypothesis, impulsivity was not a significant predictor of self-harm, nor did it mediate the relationship between BPD symptoms, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and self-harm. Instead, depression (i.e., negative affect) was found to mediate the relationship between BPD and self-harm, raising the possibility that affective dysregulation may be the underlying mechanism for the relationship. Implications of the results for prevention and treatment, limitations and strengths of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

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