Roles
Student Authors:
Stella Nicolaou '19
Sydney Goldberg '22
Kaley Michael '22
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-18-2022
Department 1
Psychology
Abstract
We examined whether borderline personality features may be differentially associated with reactions to social support strategies involving validation (acknowledging distress as normal) vs. reframing (highlighting opportunities for positive outcomes). After completing self-report measures of their borderline personality features and interpersonal problems, participants rated their reactions to receiving either validation or reframing support (randomly assigned) from a close friend with whom they imagined sharing hypothetical negative experiences. Borderline personality features were associated with less positive responses to reframing than to validation, and a tendency to interpret reframing support as an assertion of dominance. Moderated mediation analyses further showed that associations between borderline features and negative responses to reframing support were specifically explained by hostile-dominant interpersonal problems. Findings highlight the importance of validation to help individuals high in borderline features experience the emotional benefits of social support.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
DOI
10.1080/23311908.2022.2146280
Version
Version of Record
Recommended Citation
Nicolaou, S., Goldberg, S. F., Michael, K. M., & Berenson, K. R. (2022). Responses to validating versus reframing support strategies as a function of borderline personality features and interpersonal problems. Cogent Psychology, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2022.2146280
Required Publisher's Statement
This article is available from the publisher's website.