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. 2024 Apr:32:100777.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100777. Epub 2024 May 18.

A relational frame approach to perspective taking in persons with Borderline Personality Disorder

Carla J Walton  1   2   3 , Alison Rasmussen  4 , Matthieu Villatte  5 , Roger Vilardaga  6 , Lauren Irwin  1 , Rachel Rossiter  7
Affiliations

A relational frame approach to perspective taking in persons with Borderline Personality Disorder

Carla J Walton et al. J Contextual Behav Sci. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Perspective taking is important for effective interpersonal functioning. According to Relational Frame Theory (RFT), perspective taking is underpinned by deictic relational framing. It has been proposed that individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may have deficits in perspective taking. A mixed experimental design (N = 112) was used to assess whether individuals with a diagnosis of BPD displayed impaired perspective taking on a computerised RFT deictic relational task (DRT) and a self-report measure, compared to a control sample. There was no significant difference between groups on the computerised DRT. Within the clinical group, overall distress and relational distress were not found to be significantly associated with DRT performance or self-reported perspective taking. However, those with BPD self-reported significantly worse perspective taking ability compared to the control sample. This finding indicates a discrepancy between perceived perspective taking ability and direct perspective taking performance in persons with BPD.

Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder; Deictic frame; Perspective taking; Relational Frame Theory.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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