Interference of attachment images in adults with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

Interpersonal problems of people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may accentuate emotional dys-regulation. The aim of this research was to investigate how individuals with BPD react to images of Secure Attachment (SA) and Insecure Attachment (IA). Participants with BPD (n = 6) were compared to a control group (n = 6) matched in number, sex and age (M = 29 years, SD = 5,49). Both groups responded to the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Psychologists selected the attachment images used (n = 8). Subsequently, participants with BPD and the control group performed an Emotional Interference (EI) task and explicitly evaluated attachment images. Individuals with BPD had significantly impaired parental bonding than the control group. The BPD group evaluated the AI stimuli as substantially more representative of an insecure attachment than the control group and the psychologists. There was no effect of EI on the applied task. The results of this study suggest that the insecure attachment of individuals with BPD influences the explicit evaluation of attachment images.