General invalidation and trauma-specific invalidation as predictors of personality and subclinical psychopathology

Abstract

We examined the hypothesized link of general and trauma-specific invalidation to the development of personality traits and subclinical psychopathology. College students' (N = 248) self-reports of childhood sexual abuse, perceived invalidation to disclosure of the abuse, and perceived general invalidation by caregivers were used to predict symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline, narcissistic, and psychopathic personalities. Hierarchal regression analyses revealed that childhood sexual abuse and general invalidation independently predicted symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and borderline personality. General invalidation also independently predicted narcissistic and psychopathic personalities. Among a subset of participants who reported at least one instance of abuse (N = 91), perceived invalidation to abuse disclosure independently predicted all measured personality and psychopathology constructs, whereas general invalidation did not. These findings suggest that invalidation may play an important role in the development of personality and subclinical psychopathology.