Borderline personality vulnerabilities for intimate partner violence perpetration in a non-forensic sample: Developing a typology and theoretical model
| dc.contributor.advisor | Campbell, Mary Ann | |
| dc.contributor.author | Doyle, Jessie Nicole | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-04-03T14:33:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-04-03T14:33:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-02 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Research demonstrates that intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators are heterogeneous (Corvo & Johnson, 2013). Borderline personality disorder, a mental health condition reflecting a pervasive pattern of interpersonal and identity dysfunction, emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity (APA, 2013), has often been recognized among IPV perpetrators (Spencer et al., 2019). Nonetheless, not all IPV perpetrators have BPD traits, nor do all people with BPD traits perpetrate IPV. Better understanding a ‘borderline subtype’ of IPV perpetrators may help discern which BPD features are predictive of IPV behaviours (physical, psychological, sexual). The current research utilized online recruitment strategies to: (1) identify latent profiles of self-report BPD features, insecure attachment, and anxiety sensitivity (AS) among a non-forensic sample; (2) distinguish latent profiles on their reported IPV behaviours; (3) test the explanatory value of attachment dimensions and AS in the BPD-IPV pathway; and (4) investigate the validity of BPD features over and above traditional criminogenic risk factors in predicting IPV behaviours. From the final sample of community-based members (N = 451, Mage = 31.98, 62.7% men), two profiles emerged via latent profile analysis: (1) insecure attachment-specific (IAS, n = 90) and (2) mixed borderline features (MBF, n = 361). MANOVAs revealed that the MBF profile endorsed significantly more frequent and severe IPV behaviours and criminogenic risk factors. Structural equation modelling demonstrated that insecure attachment and AS partially mediated relations between BPD and IPV. Hierarchical regression analyses and canonical correlation analyses indicated that BPD features and traditional criminogenic risk factors each have incremental validity in predicting IPV behaviours. Correctional implications include adding BPD features to existing IPV risk assessment tools. Clinically, results corroborate the notion that addressing heterogeneity in IPV offenders is important for tailoring evidence-based interventions to the unique needs of offenders (Butters et al., 2021). Whereas insecure attachment-specific offenders might benefit from attachment-based or emotionally-focused couples therapy, mixed borderline features offenders would likely require interventions that focus on enhancing emotion regulation (e.g., dialectical behaviour therapy). Overall, the present findings support the need to tailor IPV interventions, and continue investigating the role of BPD features in IPV behaviours to maximize the utility of current risk assessment tools. | |
| dc.description.copyright | © Jessie N. Doyle, 2025 | |
| dc.format.extent | xii, 317 | |
| dc.format.medium | electronic | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://unbscholar.lib.unb.ca/handle/1882/38271 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of New Brunswick | |
| dc.relation | Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada - Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral CGS scholarship | |
| dc.relation | Canadian Psychological Association’s Scientific Affairs Committee Student Research Grant | |
| dc.relation | Snodgrass Research Proposal Award | |
| dc.rights | http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 | |
| dc.subject.discipline | Psychology | |
| dc.title | Borderline personality vulnerabilities for intimate partner violence perpetration in a non-forensic sample: Developing a typology and theoretical model | |
| dc.type | doctoral thesis | |
| oaire.license.condition | other | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Psychology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of New Brunswick | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctorate | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |