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Symposia

Personality Disorders

At the Intersection of Interpersonal Difficulties and Emotion Dysregulation in BPD: Associations with NSSI/Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors, Relationship Satisfaction, and Symptoms

4 - (SYM 24) The Interrelatedness of Intimate Relationship Problems and Suicidal or Self-injurious Behavior in Borderline Personality Disorder

Friday, November 21, 2025
5:46 PM - 6:00 PM CST
Location: Strand 12 A&B, Level 2
Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder, Emotion, Self-Injury
Recommended Readings: Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Fitzpatrick, S., & Haliczer, L. A. (2021). Emotion regulation and borderline personality features in daily life: The role of social context. Journal of Affective Disorders, 282, 677 - 685.,   Fitzpatrick, S., Liebman, R. E., & Monson, C. (2021). The borderline interpersonal-affective systems (BIAS) model: Extending understanding of the interpersonal context of borderline personality disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 84, 101983.,   Herr, N. R., Kivity, Y., Ramadurai, R., Covington, A. M., & Gunthert, K. C. (2024). Empathic accuracy of romantic partner negative affect is influenced by borderline personality symptoms. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 15, 74 - 83.,   Howard, K. P. & Cheavens, J. S. (2023). Interpersonal emotion regulation in the context of social networks: A focus on borderline personality disorder. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 14, 182 - 195.,  
Abstract Body
People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently engage in suicidal or self-injurious (SSI) behavior and report high rates of relationship conflict, dissatisfaction, and/or dissolution. Intimate relationships are particularly impaired and such impairment may be inextricably bound with SSI; relational conflicts predict SSI in BPD and, in turn, SSI strains relationships in part due to increased fear, burnout, and stress in significant others. These findings imply that effectively targeting SSI in BPD requires expanding interventions to incorporate partners and focus on relational well-being, in addition to targeting the behavior itself. However, most research in this area relies on people with BPD’s self-reports and neglects the report of their intimate partners, raising questions regarding whether people with BPD and their partners would agree on the nature and occurrence of conflicts. Further, no studies have examined the bidirectional relationship between conflictual communication and SSI in people with BPD and in their intimate partners – drawing on reports from both parties. This study addresses these gaps by examining the bidirectional relationship between conflictual communication and SSI in the daily life of people with BPD and their intimate partners. Individuals with BPD who engaged in SSI > 2 times in the past two weeks and their intimate partners enrolled in 30 days of ecological momentary assessment. Dyads were prompted five times a day and asked about the occurrence and severity of conflictual communication and potential engagement in SSI, since the last assessment. Data from 105 couples has already been collected, and completion of data collection is scheduled for August 2025. Structural equation modelling will examine the bidirectional relationships between conflictual communication as reported by people with BPD and their partners and people with BPD’s reports of SSI over time. Findings will inform efforts to bridge behavioral and public health interventions by pointing to clear communication behaviors that can be broadly targeted in both people with BPD and their partners to reduce SSI and enhance relational well-being.