The mediating role of interpersonal neurobiological based prefrontal functions and difficulties in emotion regulation in the relationship between separation individuation and borderline personality disorder beliefs

The aim of the study is to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation skills and prefrontal functions in the relationship between difficulties in separation-individuation level and borderline personality disorder (BPD) beliefs in a community sample. Additionally, one of the objectives is to investigate whether there are differences in BPD beliefs based on participants' socio- demographic characteristics. The research was conducted with 400 participants aged between 18-66. Data were collected through an online survey using the following tools: Socio-Demographic Information Form, Separation- Individuation Inventory, Personality Beliefs Scale – Short Form / Borderline Personality Disorder Subscale, Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Scale, and Neurobiological-Based Prefrontal Function Scale. According to the findings of the study, significant relationships were found between difficulties in separation- individuation, emotion regulation skills, prefrontal functions, and BPD beliefs. Additionally, it was observed that BPD beliefs varied according to certain socio- demographic factors. The results of the mediation analysis using PROCESS indicated that emotion regulation skills and prefrontal functions play a mediating role in the relationship between difficulties in separation-individuation and BPD beliefs. In the study, BPD was approached from a dimensional perspective and explored through the measurement of dysfunctional personality beliefs. Due to the limited number of previous studies examining the relationships between variables in a community sample, it is believed that this study contributes to the literature. Finally, the findings were discussed in the context of current literature, the limitations of the study were outlined, and suggestions for future research were provided.