Betrayal and Borderline Personality Disorder
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A questionnaire study examining the link between experiences of betrayal and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
IRAS ID
266186
Contact name
Stephanie Barningham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Trials and Research Governance (CTRG)
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
14439, PID
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Betrayal is when someone you trust does something on purpose that causes you emotional harm. Betrayal is commonly noted by clinicians to be important to client psychological difficulties and clinical formulations. However little is known about betrayal as a concept in the development, maintenance and treatment of mental health difficulties. Recent research suggests a link between betrayal and some forms of difficult to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is a preliminary study to investigate whether betrayal is also central to understanding psychological difficulties in individuals with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).Using questionnaires, the study will measure self-reported experiences of betrayal and betrayal of others. The project also aims to investigate the relationship between betrayal experiences and how people relate to themselves and other people.
Three groups will be included in this study, two clinical groups (OCD and BPD) and one non clinical control group. The whole study will be completed online, at one time point. Participants may also take part in the study by completing a paper and pen version of the online study if they wish.
Participants with a diagnosis of BPD will be recruited from NHS secondary care psychological services. Participants with OCD be recruited through advertisements on charity websites OCD-UK and OCD-Action and via social media forums. The non clinical control group will be recruited through convenience and social media forums.
Once recruited, participants will be asked to provide some additional information about themselves, and complete the questionnaires about their general mood and questionnaires of betrayal.
The whole study will be completed online, at one time point. Participants may also take part in the study by completing a paper and pen version of the online study if they wish. The results from the three groups will be compared and analysed.
Dissemination: The research will be used for the fulfilment of the doctorate in clinical psychology (written up as an academic thesis) as well as being written up for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Summary of Results
A questionnaire study examining the link between experiences of betrayal and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)We know that feeling betrayed of trust by the actions of someone that is close to you can be traumatic and cause considerable distress. However, little is known about the impact of betrayal experiences and mental health. Recent research suggests a link between past experiences of betrayal and some forms of difficult to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This study is designed to further investigate the impact of betrayal experiences and whether betrayal experiences are relevant to the understanding of a person’s current psychological difficulties.
This is a preliminary study to investigate whether betrayal is also central to understanding client psychological difficulties with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
Specifically, whether i) individuals diagnosed with BPD exhibit betrayal sensitivity (sensitivity to further betrayal) relative to comparison groups of people with other diagnoses and people with no diagnosis, and ii) whether individuals with BPD are less sensitive to the risk of them betraying others.Results found that betrayal sensitivity appears to be an important construct for individuals with BPD, as well as replicating previous findings of the betrayal link in OCD. Together the results provide further evidence of the role of betrayal in psychopathology.
While treatment approaches acknowledge the importance of problems with early attachment carried over into the person’s adult life, the experience of betrayal has not received specific attention in clinical psychology. The findings here suggest that it may be useful for clinicians to screen for betrayal and assess the impact of these experiences in clients with BPD and OCD, as it is possible that instances of betrayal are central to the psychological understanding of a patients’ distress.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
19/WA/0286
Date of REC Opinion
3 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion