The mediating role of beliefs about emotions in the relationship between invalidating childhood environment and borderline personality traits

While the association between an invalidating childhood environment and borderline personality traits is well-established, the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of negative beliefs about emotions and their subdimensions in the relationship between an invalidating childhood environment and borderline personality traits in adulthood. The sample consisted of 420 Turkish adults aged between 18 and 40 years. Participants completed the Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale, the Borderline Personality Traits Questionnaire, and the Beliefs about Emotions Questionnaire through an online survey. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and regression-based path analyses based on Hayes’ bootstrap mediation approach with 5,000 resamples. The results indicated that an invalidating childhood environment was positively associated with both borderline personality traits and negative beliefs about emotions, and that negative beliefs about emotions were also positively associated with borderline personality traits. Mediation analyses demonstrated that overall negative beliefs about emotions (95% CI [.04, .13]), overwhelming/uncontrollable beliefs (95% CI [.07, .19]), shameful/irrational beliefs (95% CI [.03, .12]), and damaging beliefs (95% CI [.01, .08]) each significantly mediated this relationship. Overall, the findings suggest that maladaptive beliefs about emotions constitute a key psychological mechanism through which childhood emotional invalidation may increase vulnerability to borderline personality traits in adulthood.