Moderating effects of emotion regulation strategies on borderline personality symptoms in young adults with adverse childhood experiences

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic Information, frequencies, and means

Characteristics	n	%
Gender
Cis-female	125	72.7
Cis-male	46	26.6
Non-binary	1	0.6
Ethnicity
Asian	73	42.4
White	70	40.7
Biracial	15	8.7
Other	14	8.2
Highest level of education
Less than high school	2	1.2
High school or equivalent	70	40.7
Some college, technical/trade qualification	60	34.9
Undergraduate degree	36	20.9
Graduate Degree	4	2.3
Relationship Status
Single or casual dating	97	56.4
Committed relationship	72	41.9
Married	2	1.2
Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual	146	84.9
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer	24	13.5
Asexual	2	1.2
Currently enrolled in post-secondary education	153	89
Mean Age (SD)	20.99	(2.04)
Age Range in Years	18–25
Frequencies for ACE categories	n	%
No ACEs reported	70	40.7
One ACE	43	25.0
Two or more ACEs	59	34.3
Means and Standard Deviations	M	SD
ERQ—Suppression	13.60	5.14
ERQ—Cognitive Reappraisal	28.48	6.53
BSL-23	17.63	14.31

Abbreviations: Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE; Dong et al., 2004); Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003); Borderline Symptoms List (BSL-23; Bohus et al., 2009).

Table 2. Zero-order correlations between adverse childhood experiences, emotion regulation strategy endorsement and borderline personality symptoms

	ACE	ERQ—Suppression	ERQ—Reappraisal
ERQ—Suppression	0.021
ERQ—Reappraisal	−0.034	0.035
BSL − 23	0.239**	0.253**	− 0.364**

**p < 0.01.

Abbreviations: Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE; Dong et al., 2004); Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003); Borderline Symptoms List (BSL-23; Bohus et al., 2009).

Figure 1. Moderation model depicting cognitive reappraisal as a moderator.

Table 3. Standardized coefficients for regression analyses examining cognitive reappraisal between ACEs and BPD symptoms

	R^2	b	SE	t	p
Overall model	.26
Constant		26.51	7.30	3.63	.00**
One ACE		−1.80	11.40	−0.16	.88
Multiple ACEs		38.71	10.27	3.77	.00**
Cognitive Reappraisal with one ACE		0.11	0.37	0.31	.76
Cognitive Reappraisal with Multiple ACEs		−1.04	0.34	−3.04	.00**
Simple Slopes predicting BPD symptoms		b	SE	t	p
One ACE exposure at −1 SD Cognitive Reappraisal		0.83	3.54	0.23	.81
Multiple ACE exposures at −1 SD Cognitive Reappraisal		14.82	3.10	4.78	.00**
One ACE exposure at mean of Cognitive Reappraisal		1.58	2.43	0.65	.52
Multiple ACE exposures at mean of Cognitive Reappraisal		8.02	2.22	3.62	.00**
One ACE exposure at + 1 SD Cognitive Reappraisal		2.33	3.34	0.70	.49
Multiple ACE exposures at + 1 SD Cognitive Reappraisal		1.23	3.20	0.38	.70

**p < 0.01.

Figure 2. Cognitive reappraisal as moderator of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and borderline personality disorder symptoms.

Dong, M., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Dube, S. R., Williamson, D. F., Thompson, T. J., Loo, C. M., & Giles, W. H. (2004). The interrelatedness of multiple forms of childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28(7), 771–784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.01.008

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Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 (2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348

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Bohus, M., Kleindienst, N., Limberger, M. F., Stieglitz, R. D., Domsalla, M., Chapman, A. L., Steil, R., Philipsen, A., & Wolf, M. (2009). The short version of the borderline symptom list (BSL-23): Development and initial data on psychometric properties. Psychopathology, 42(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1159/000173701

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