Mindfulness and Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills in Borderline Personality Disorder

Randomized, Active-controlled, Clinical Trial Comparing Effects of Mindfulness and Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills in Borderline Personality Disorder

The purpose of the study was to determine whether mindfulness training could be more effective than another active intervention in reducing borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. The main hypothesis was that patients allocated to the mindfulness group would show a greater improvement on global BPD symptomatology. As a second objective, we explored some of the possible underlying mechanisms of both active treatments. For that purpose, changes in decentering, mindfulness facets and cognitive processing of social interactions were also evaluated.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness; Behavioral: interpersonal effectiveness

Detailed Description

The present study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of mindfulness skills (M) versus interpersonal effectiveness skills (IE) on borderline symptoms. For that purpose, a randomized, active-controlled clinical trial was designed. 64 participants with borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis were allocated to mindfulness (n=32) or interpersonal effectiveness skills (n=32). Both interventions were delivered over a 10-week period. The borderline symptom list (BSL-23) was elected as the primary outcome measure. Mindfulness related capacities, decentering and cognitive processing of social interactions were also evaluated with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Experiences Questionnaire (EQ) and the Multidimensional Scale of Social Expression (EMES-C), respectively. Assessments were conducted pre and post interventions.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

• Ages between 18 and 45 years
• BPD criteria according to two diagnostic interviews (SCID-II and DIB-R)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, drug-induced psychosis, organic brain syndrome, bipolar disorder or mental retardation
• Participating in any sort of psychotherapy during the study or having participated in dialectical behavioral therapy groups in the past

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Mindfulness; As proposed in dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness training consist of a set of behavioral skills that aim at improving patient's attentional control and emotional regulation.	Behavioral: Mindfulness; weekly psychotherapy sessions for 10 weeks (120 min each)
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Interpersonal effectiveness; Interpersonal effectiveness skills are focused on improving interpersonal relationships and enhancing patient's ability to display social effective behavior.	Behavioral: interpersonal effectiveness; weekly psychotherapy sessions for 10 weeks (120 min each)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
change from baseline in borderline symptoms after a 10 week intervention	participants were assessed pre and post interventions	10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
change from baseline in decentering after a 10 week intervention	participants were assessed pre and post interventions	10 weeks
change from baseline in mindfulness facets after a 10 week intervention	participants were assessed pre and post interventions	10 weeks
change from baseline in social interactions after a 10 week intervention	participants were assessed pre and post interventions	10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fundació Institut de Recerca de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Juan C Pascual, PhD, Servei de Psiquitria. Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Storebo OJ, Stoffers-Winterling JM, Vollm BA, Kongerslev MT, Mattivi JT, Jorgensen MS, Faltinsen E, Todorovac A, Sales CP, Callesen HE, Lieb K, Simonsen E. Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 4;5(5):CD012955. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012955.pub2.
• Soler J, Elices M, Pascual JC, Martin-Blanco A, Feliu-Soler A, Carmona C, Portella MJ. Effects of mindfulness training on different components of impulsivity in borderline personality disorder: results from a pilot randomized study. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. 2016 Jan 11;3:1. doi: 10.1186/s40479-015-0035-8. eCollection 2016.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2014
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2015
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): March 24, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): March 25, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 23, 2015
• Last Verified: March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: mindfulness; borderline personality disorder
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Personality Disorders; Disease; Borderline Personality Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: IIBSP-MOD-2011-147