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Abstract Background Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) feel rejected even when socially included. The pathophysiological mechanisms of this rejection bias are still unknown. Using the Cyberball paradigm, we investigated whether patients with BPD, display altered physiological responses to social inclusion and ostracism, as assessed by changes in Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA). Methods The sample comprised 30 patients with BPD, 30 with remitted Major Depressive Disorder (rMDD) and 30 Healthy Controls (HC). Self-report ratings of threats toward one’s fundamental need to belong and RSA reactivity were measured immediately after each Cyberball condition. Results Participants with BPD showed lower RSA at rest than HC. Only patients with BPD, reported higher threats to fundamental needs and exhibited a further decline in RSA after the Inclusion condition. Conclusions Individuals with BPD experience a biased appraisal of social inclusion both at the subjective and physiological level, showing higher feelings of ostracism and a breakdown of autonomic regulation to including social scenarios.

Both the new ICD-11 and the latest Alternative DSM-5 Model for Personality Disorders focus on self and interpersonal functioning as the central feature of personality pathology, also acknowledging that personality disorders are organized along a dimensional continuum of severity. This revised understanding is in line with long-standing psychodynamic conceptualisations of personality pathology, in particular Kernberg's object relations model of personality organization. Despite existing evidence for the clinical utility of the derived Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO-R), empirical support for the identification of clear cut-points between the different levels of personality functioning is missing. For this purpose, a total of 764 adult participants were recruited across two clinical (outpatient and inpatient) settings (n = 250) and two non-clinical (university students and general community) samples (n = 514). Results from the mixture modeling suggested the existence of five groups across the clinical and non-clinical samples that covered: healthy personality functioning, maladaptive personality rigidity, and mild, moderate, and severe levels of personality pathology. All five indicators of personality organization were found to be reliable predictors of personality pathology. Of the five STIPO-R indicators, Aggression and Moral Values had the most discriminative power for differentiating between the Mild, Moderate, and Severe personality disorder groups. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a set of dimensional criteria was added as an emerging alternative model to the diagnosis of personality disorder (PD; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Parallel to this, within the object relations conceptualization of personality pathology, a structured interview, the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO), was developed to assess pathological personality and then revised (STIPO-R). In this study, the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the STIPO-R were tested on a sample of 236 Chinese participants, including both psychiatric patients and healthy individuals. Overall, the STIPO-R showed good internal consistency, interrater and test–retest reliability, and generally satisfactory results in structure and convergent validity. The STIPO-R also demonstrated discriminant validity (healthy individuals vs. psychiatric patients with PD vs. psychiatric patients without PD). Results are also discussed in light of cultural differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Public Significance Statement: The study illustrates high reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Structured Interview of Personality Organization–Revised, a clinical structured interview designed for the assessment of borderline PD based on object-relations theory. These results demonstrated the applicability of Structured Interview of Personality Organization–Revised on the distinguishment of PD and the initial assessment in psychotherapy in the Chinese context, which offers a novel perspective to the assessment and treatment of PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is bystanders' behavior and their willingness to intervene in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) in three different countries (China, Italy, and Ethiopia), considering individual and social factors (i.e., right-wing Authoritarianism, masculinity ideology, and gender). The Italian sample was made up of 192 participants (56% male). The Chinese sample was made up of 274 participants (66% female). The Ethiopian sample was made up of 161 participants (53.3% female). Participants completed the Male Role Norms Inventory–Short Form, the Right-wing Authoritarianism Scale, and the Willingness to intervene in cases of IPVAW. The Chinese model suggested how masculinity ideology is negatively associated with "reporting the incident to the authorities" factor, and positively with "not my business" factor. Right-wing authoritarianism is positively associated with "reporting the incident to the authorities" factor. The Italian model suggested how masculinity ideology was positively related to the "reporting the incident to the authorities" factor, and gender was negatively related to "not my business" factor, and positively related to "personal involvement" factor. The Ethiopian model suggested how masculinity ideology is positively associated with "personal involvement in the case" factor and gender is positively associated with the "reporting the incident to the authorities" factor. Masculine ideologies, authoritarian personality characteristics, and gender are predisposing factors toward bystander attitudes when confronted with cases of intimate partner violence. Our findings highlight key areas of focus to help raise awareness related to IPV cases, and policy aimed at promoting prosocial society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]