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Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been associated with decision-making deficits, yet such deficits may be context dependent, particularly emotional state and social context. Reinforcement learning models offer an avenue to pinpoint decision-making impairments. The current study used reinforcement learning models to examine whether feedback type (social vs. nonsocial) or emotional state (neutral vs. negative) influence the association between BPD and decision making., Method: Adults (N = 131) with a range of BPD symptoms completed a diagnostic interview and a computerized learning task after neutral and negative emotion inductions. We examined accuracy, learning rate, and exploration., Results: We conducted linear models to examine the association between BPD criteria, feedback type, and emotional state on learning parameters and learning accuracy. We found that the negative emotion condition was associated with greater exploration, particularly for those with elevated BPD features. Furthermore, elevated BPD features were associated with impaired accuracy when aiming to avoid loss. A 3-way interaction between BPD, emotion, and feedback indicated that, for people with higher BPD features, learning performance was further impaired when receiving social feedback in the negative emotion condition., Limitations: Several limitations warrant mention, including a relatively homogenous sample, possible co-occurring diagnoses, and methodological consideration with the learning task., Conclusions: The present study underscored the link between BPD and learning impairments. Amplified learning alterations under negative social contexts have important implications for identifying optimal venues to teach new skills (of relevance to treatment) for those with BPD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no known declarations of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with greater substance use. Emotion dysregulation has been implicated in both BPD and substance use, yet there is limited research examining the role of emotion dysregulation in the BPD-substance use relation. We examined the independent and interactive associations of BPD symptoms and emotion dysregulation in reported drug use over 1 year. Participants (N = 143) were over-recruited for BPD, assessed via interview, and completed measures of negative and positive emotion dysregulation. Drug use frequency was assessed with monthly surveys over a 1-year period. Results demonstrated interrelations among BPD symptoms and both negative and positive emotion dysregulation. However, when modeling BPD and emotion dysregulation together, only higher BPD symptoms were associated with more frequent drug use. Findings support the relation of BPD symptoms and emotion dysregulation but suggest that emotion dysregulation may not account for drug use frequency above and beyond BPD in community-recruited populations., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We investigated whether post-meal walking (PMW) improved post-prandial glucose and 24h glucose control under free-living conditions among physically inactive young women., Methods: Young women (Age: 20±1years; percent body fat: 28.2 ± 12%; BMI: 23.8 ± 4.2kg·m-1) completed a randomised crossover study to assess if PMW confers benefit. On the PMW day, women completed three bouts of brisk walks, and on the Control day they were instructed to follow normal habitual activities. Continuous glucose monitors captured post-prandial and 24h glucose, and physical activity monitors tracked physical activity throughout the study., Results: PMW walking increased total daily step count (Control = 9,159 ± 2,962 steps vs. PMW = 14,611±3,891 steps, p<0.001) and activity scores (Control=33.87±1.16 METs·h vs. PMW = 36.11±1.58 METs·h, p < 0.001). PMW led to lower 3h average post-prandial glucose (main effect of condition, p=0.011) and 3h post-prandial area under curve glucose responses (main effect of condition, p = 0.027) compared to the control condition. Post hoc analysis revealed the largest decline occurred after dinner (3h average glucose Control = 7.55±1.21 mmol/L vs. PMW = 6.71 ± 0.80mmol/L, p = 0.039), when insulin sensitivity is typically diminished. Despite improvements in post-prandial glucose control, this did not translate to improvements in 24h glucose control (p > 0.05)., Conclusion: Physically inactive and metabolically healthy young women, PMW improves post-prandial glucose but not 24h glucose control.

Eating disorders (EDs) are associated with emotion regulation difficulties. However, most studies have examined intrapersonal emotion regulation difficulties and strategies without consideration of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). Thus, it remains unknown whether intrinsic IER (i.e., how people regulate their emotions through others) is associated with disordered eating. The present study examined whether putatively maladaptive IER strategies such as reassurance seeking and venting were associated with ED cognitions, behaviors, and symptom severity. Additionally, we examined whether IER strategy use varied as a function of probable ED diagnosis. A sample of 181 college students ( M age  = 20.01 years, SD  = 2.18) from a large northeastern university completed self-report measures of disordered eating, IER strategies, and intrapersonal emotion regulation difficulties. As predicted, reassurance seeking was associated with most ED symptomatology and ED symptom severity except for fasting frequency. Venting was only associated with body dissatisfaction. Associations between reassurance seeking and ED symptom severity and excessive exercise frequency remained significant even after controlling for sex and intrapersonal emotion regulation strategies. Finally, participants with a probable ED diagnosis reported greater reassurance seeking but not venting compared to nonprobable ED cases. These findings highlight the important associations between IER strategy use and disordered eating, namely, reassurance seeking. Additional research is needed to examine the associations between IER strategy use and disordered eating longitudinally.

Background: Risky, self-destructive impulsivity and emotion dysregulation are core features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Yet impulsivity is multidimensional and has rarely been comprehensively assessed in BPD. Impulsivity has been linked to negative emotion dysregulation, yet explorations of the role of positive emotion dysregulation have been neglected. The current study attempts to extend existing literature by identifying the pattern of associations of specific domains of impulsivity, using both self-report and behavioral measures in BPD, and the role of both negative and positive emotion dysregulation in this link., Methods: Adults with BPD (n = 48), subthreshold BPD (n = 37), and without BPD (n = 78) completed a diagnostic interview, self-report measures, and multiple behavioral tasks. We examined correlations between primary variables, then examined the role of negative and positive emotion dysregulation in the association between BPD and specific domains of impulsivity., Results: Negative emotion dysregulation accounted for the link between BPD and negative urgency, (lack of) premeditation, and (lack of) perseverance, while positive emotion dysregulation accounted for the relation between BPD and sensation seeking., Limitations: Key limitations of this study include using a relatively homogeneous sample and using abbreviated versions of one behavioral task, among others discussed., Conclusions: These findings locate the precise impulsivity impairments in BPD and highlight the differential roles of negative and positive emotion dysregulation. Understanding the impulsivity deficits associated with BPD will further explain the impulsive behaviors associated with this disorder, and the contexts in which they occur, which may streamline clinical treatments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: It remains unknown if physical inactivity and excess adiposity increases 24-h central blood pressure and arterial stiffness in young adults. This study examined 24-h central blood pressure and indirect measures of arterial stiffness (e.g., central pulse pressure) in physically inactive young adults with and without excess adiposity., Methods: Body fat and ambulatory 24-h blood pressure were measured in 31 young adults (men: 22±4 years, N.=15; women: 22±5 years, N=16). Multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance measured body fat. Normal adiposity was defined as <20% body fat in men and <32% body fat in women, whereas excess adiposity was defined as ≥20% and ≥32% in men and women, respectively. Ambulatory 24-h central blood pressure was calculated based on brachial blood pressure and volumetric displacement waveforms., Results: By design, the normal adiposity group had a lower body fat percentage (men: 15.5±4.6%; women: 20.8±2.5%) compared to the physically inactive excess adiposity group (men: 29.8±5.4%; women: 34.3±7.5%). Men and women with excess adiposity group had elevated central blood pressure (central systolic, P<0.05 vs. normal adiposity groups). Central pulse pressure was elevated in the excess adiposity group (men: 45±5 mmHg; women: 41±9 mmHg) compared to normal adiposity groups (men: 36±4 mmHg; women: 32±3 mmHg, P<0.05 for both), while other arterial stiffness (augmentation index and ambulatory arterial stiffness index) measures trended toward significance only in men with excess adiposity., Conclusions: Physically inactive men and women with excess adiposity have increased 24h central blood pressure and pulse pressure compared to physically inactive young adults with normal adiposity.

Despite preliminary evidence that people with suicide attempt histories demonstrate deficits in processing feedback, no studies have examined the interrelations of learning from feedback and emotional state on suicide risk. This study examined the influence of suicide risk and negative emotions on learning accuracy and rates among individuals with a range of borderline personality features (N = 145). Participants completed a reinforcement learning task after neutral and negative emotion inductions. Results revealed interactions between suicide risk and emotion condition, with elevated risk linked to greater increases in loss learning rate (training phase models) and gain learning rate (test phase models) post-negative emotion induction. Emotion-dependent fluctuations in learning performance may be markers of decision-making that are associated with greater suicide risk. This line of work has the potential to identify the contexts that confer greater risk for suicidal behaviors., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms and suicidal behaviors are prevalent among undergraduate students. Although rumination contributes to self-destructive behaviors in BPD, less research examines the role of rumination in distinct suicidal outcomes among individuals with BPD features instead focusing more on self-destructive behaviors as a latent variable. The present study examined the main and interactive effects of BPD features and two forms of rumination (brooding and anger) in the prediction of suicide-related outcomes (ideation and attempts) among college students. Participants ( N  = 181 undergraduate students, overrecruited for BPD features; 55.2% female) reported their lifetime suicide risk, brooding rumination, anger rumination, and BPD features. Brooding rumination and BPD features were associated with suicidal ideation. Anger rumination was not associated with suicide-related outcomes. Findings suggest that brooding rumination is a potential intervention target for suicidal ideation in undergraduate students whereas further research is required to determine the association between anger rumination and suicidal ideation and attempts.

Background: A fast-growing body of research provides support for the role of positive emotion dysregulation in the etiology and maintenance of a wide range of psychiatric difficulties and clinically relevant behaviors. However, this work has exclusively relied on the subjective assessment of positive emotion dysregulation. Advancing research, the current study examined associations between physiological and subjective indices of positive emotional responding in the laboratory. Specifically, we explored the relation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Positive (Weiss, Gratz, & Lavender, 2015) to resting heart rate variability (HRV) at high and low state positive affect intensity., Methods: Participants were 122 individuals recruited from college and community settings ( M age = 23.39, 84.4% female, 68.0% White)., Results: Findings indicated a positive relation between positive emotion dysregulation and resting HRV at high state positive affect and a negative relation between positive emotion dysregulation and resting HRV at low state positive affect., Conclusions: Results extend our understanding of the associations among subjective and physiological indices of positive emotional processes. These findings have key implications for the conduct of research on positive emotion dysregulation., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None to report.