How Do We Target NSSI in BPD? Exploring The Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation, Interpersonal Dysfunction, And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

The current research investigated: 1) the trajectory of changes in emotion dysregulation, interpersonal dysfunction, and nonsuicidal self-injury (i.e., NSSI) over the course of DBT, and 2) whether changes in emotion dysregulation mediate the recovery of other features of BPD in treatment. Individuals with BPD (N = 120) enrolled in a multi-site study were assessed at five timepoints over 12 months of dialectical behaviour therapy (i.e., DBT). Results indicated that interpersonal dysfunction and NSSI decreased linearly over the course of DBT. Emotion dysregulation decreased in a quadratic manner; most of the gains in emotion dysregulation may occur in earlier phases of DBT. Results also revealed that although changes in emotion dysregulation was not a significant mediator of the relationship between changes in interpersonal dysfunction and in NSSI, changes in interpersonal dysfunction predicted changes in emotion dysregulation. Future research directions regarding NSSI, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal dysfunction within DBT are discussed.