The Relationship of Thought-Action Fusion and Personal Intelligence with the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder in University Students: The Mediating Role of Affective Control

Aim and Psychological variables in university settings, wherein there is a wide personality and individual diversity, stimulate students’ amenability and affect their academic performance. This research aimed to assess the mediating role of affective control on the relationship between thought-action fusions and personal intelligence with symptoms of borderline personality disorder in university students.
Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study, the statistical sample included 250 medical students in universities of Bonab and Maragheh cities, Iran, in academic years of 2014-2015 selected using cluster sampling method in several phases. Claridge and Broks borderline personality disorder questionnaire, Rachman et al. thought-action fusion scale, Williams and Chambless affective control scale and Mayer personal intelligence questionnaire were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, and Bootstrap and Sobel tests through SPSS Amos software.
Findings: The fitness of the model in the initial reform was approved by removing non-significant path. Personal intelligence, depressed mood, morality, and anger had direct and significant effect on the symptoms of borderline personality disorder; but the effect of self-probability, others-probability, anxiety and positive affect was not significant. Morality subscale with the mediating role of depressed mood, anger and positive affect, self-probability with the mediating role of depressed mood, and others-probability with the mediating role of depressed mood, anger and positive affect had indirect and significant effect on the symptoms of borderline personality disorder. But the effect of personal intelligence was not significant. In total, 66% of the variance in symptoms of borderline personality disorder was determined by the proposed variables.
Emotion- and action-regulation strategies with mediating of affective control has role in explaining the symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Thus, it seems that occurrence of cognitive emotion and action maladaptive regulation strategies and low personal intelligence increase the individual’s vulnerability borderline traits.