(PS9-A10) Does Interpersonal Conflict Mediate the Relationship Between Identity Disturbance, Suicidal Ideation, and Non-suicidal Self-injury in Adults with Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious condition that is diagnosed when an individual meets at least five of nine DSM-5-R criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Theoretical and empirical research indicates a relationship between three core features of the disorder: identity disturbance, relationship disturbance, and self-injurious behaviors (i.e., suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI); Gunderson, 2007; Lieb et al., 2004). Jorgenson (2010) posits that identity difficulties promote unpredictable actions which contribute to interpersonal difficulties. Ren and associates (2017) found that relationship disturbance mediated the path from identity disturbance to suicidal ideation in a sample of suicidal adolescents. However, to our knowledge, no research has examined the relationship between these symptoms in individuals with BPD to determine how they interact and influence one another. We hypothesize that higher rates of reported interpersonal conflict will be associated with higher identity disturbance, which, in turn will be associated with higher rates of lifetime suicidal ideation (Ren et al., 2017) and NSSI. Data were collected from 83 adults with BPD receiving 6-months of comprehensive DBT at a university-based research and training clinic. The sample had a mean age of 29.02, (SD = 10.33), was predominantly white (60%), female (77.10%), with a household income of less than $29,9999 per year (41.33%). The majority of the sample also endorsed having had lifetime suicidal ideation (90.36%) with a lifetime average of 2468 counts (SD = 11848.57) as well as having engaged in NSSI (79.01%) with a lifetime average frequency of 159 episodes (SD = 351.73).  Prior to receiving treatment, participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires including Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 (Horowitz, 2000), Borderline Identity Disturbance (BIDS; Herr, unpublished), and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI; Nock et al., 2007). Path analyses will be conducted to examine whether and how rates of interpersonal conflict mediate the relationship between identity disturbance and NSSI, as well as identity disturbance and SI. Preliminary analyses indicated a positive correlation between interpersonal conflict and identity disturbance r(76) = .294, p = .009. This study expands upon previous findings (Ren et al., 2017) by examining the relationships between these constructs, and NSSI in addition, within adults with BPD. This could help to inform the prediction of risk and treatment targets for individuals with BPD.