Emotional responses to non-suicidal self-injury in borderline and non-borderline individuals : a study of facial expressions

The present study examined the facial expressions of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and without BPD in response to memories of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) to determine the way in which changes in facial expression indicated the nature of the emotional responses to NSSI. Twenty four participants, who were over 18 years old and with a history of NSSI were recruited from the University of Tasmania. A semi-structured interview was structured to elicit information of the events (NSSI and a neutral event) in four stages: scene setting, approach, incident and consequence. Results indicated similarities between groups in the pattern of psychological response indicative of a tension reduction pattern. The group without borderline traits responded more negatively to NSSI than did the BPD group. The results are discussed in terms of the possible explanations for the nature of the psychological responses to NSSI in the face of evidence of differing patterns of psychophysiological responses and in light of the discrepancies between self-reported affective state and objectively measured psychological response.