Browsing by Author "Armenti, Nicholas A."
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Item Dispositional and Contextual Risk Factors Associated with Borderline Personality Features and Intimate Partner Violence(2019-05) Armenti, Nicholas A.; Babcock, Julia C.; Vincent, John P.; Knee, C. Raymond; Leung, PatrickIndividuals with borderline personality features may be particularly susceptible to reacting to situational stressors with negative emotion and aggression. The current study employed an experimental rejection induction paradigm to examine reactions to imagined rejection from a current romantic partner among individuals with borderline personality features. Results of the experimental rejection induction paradigm indicated that when individuals were asked to imagine an ambiguous rejection by their current romantic partner, the relation between borderline personality features and state anger post-rejection was strengthened. For individuals who imagined a critical rejection, there was no significant relation between borderline personality features and state anger post-rejection. Borderline personality features was positively associated with rejection sensitivity, physical assault, and psychological aggression. While rejection sensitivity did not serve as a mediator of the relation between borderline personality features and physical assault and psychological aggression, trait anger fully mediated the relation between borderline personality features and psychological aggression. Clinically, this suggests that angry responses to actual or perceived rejection are relevant targets for individual and couples-based interventions, especially for those with borderline personality features.Item The Effects of Cognitive and Affective Empathy Deficits on Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators(2016-05) Armenti, Nicholas A.; Babcock, Julia C.; Vincent, John P.; Schwartz, Jonathan P.This study attempted to extend findings on both borderline personality and Factor 1 psychopathy and intimate partner violence (IPV). Theory and research suggest that borderline personality is marked by psychophysiological hyperreactivity whereas psychopathy is related to psychophysiological hyporeactivity. As such, this study also sought to identify psychophysiological hyperreactivity in individuals with borderline personality and psychophysiological hyporeactivity in individuals with Factor 1 psychopathy. Cognitive and affective empathy were presented in order to observe how associated deficits influence how men with borderline personality or Factor 1 psychopathy experience psychophysiological reactivity and perpetrate IPV. Borderline personality was positively related to IPV, whereas Factor 1 psychopathy was not. Neither borderline personality nor Factor 1 psychopathy was directly related to psychophysiological reactivity. However, multiple regressions revealed that cognitive empathy moderated the relation between borderline personality and psychophysiological reactivity. Individuals high in cognitive empathy showed a positive relation between borderline personality and psychophysiological reactivity and individuals low in cognitive empathy showed a negative relation. Affective empathy moderated the relation between Factor 1 psychopathy and psychophysiological reactivity. When Factor 1 psychopathy was low, individuals showed psychophysiological hyperreactivity if affective empathy was high but hyporeactivity if affective empathy was low. This dichotomy diminished when Factor 1 psychopathy was high. Empathy did not moderate relations involving IPV. Clinically, understanding empathy deficits is needed to integrate tools for resolving conflict, coping with heightened arousal, and decreasing violence.