Alexander J. Mussap

There is evidence that psychosocial difficulties associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) extend into online interactions. However, it is unknown whether this includes online interactions in the form of non-consensual sexting perpetration and victimization, and if so, which BPD symptoms are responsible, how these symptoms influence sexting, and the extent to which this influence differs by gender and sexuality. Therefore, a convenience sample of 951 adults (470 women; 481 men; 718 heterosexual/straight; 233 sexual minority), aged 18–46 years (M = 24.39, SD = 4.76), were asked to complete an online survey containing the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD) as well as measures of non-consensual sexting perpetration and victimization, sexting attitudes and perceived norms, sexting victimization-related distress, and psychological functioning. Chi-square tests revealed that women and sexual minority men are at higher risk of victimization, whereas men (irrespective of sexual orientation) are at higher risk of perpetration. Multigroup path analyses showed that interpersonal and behavioural symptoms of BPD were associated with increased exposure to victimization across all subgroups, and increased risk of sexting perpetration but only in women. Although positive attitudes and perceived norms about sexting did not mediate these associations, victimization-related distress mediated associations between interpersonal symptoms of BPD and impaired psychological functioning across all subgroups. These results suggest a role for interpersonal and, to a lesser extent, behavioural symptoms of BPD in increasing risk of exposure to and psychological sensitivity to non-consensual sexting victimization.

The stigma associated with sexual victimization (SV) can add to the psychological burden on survivors. We compared experiences of SV and SV stigma by survivor gender and sexuality and evaluated the relevance of public and internalized sources of this stigma to their psychological functioning. An online survey containing measures of SV type (sexual harassment and assault), public SV stigma, internalized SV stigma (self-blame, self-shame, anticipated-shame), and psychological functioning (depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptomatology) was completed by 877 women and 211 men aged 18 to 66 years ( M = 30.2, SD = 8.06), of whom 73.9% were heterosexual and 26.1% identified as a sexual minority (same-sex-attracted, bisexual, pansexual, or asexual). Sexual harassment and assault were more prevalent in women and sexual minority men. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) with age and SV frequency as covariates also revealed poorer psychological functioning in sexual minority men, and higher levels of SV stigma in sexual minority women and men. Multigroup path analyses further showed that exposure to public stigma was associated with poorer psychological functioning, that internalized stigma partly mediated these associations, and that the magnitude of the associations (particularly those involving self-shame and anticipated shame) was often greater in men and sexual minorities. The results add to our understanding of the role of gender and sexuality in the experience, internalization, and psychological impact of SV-related stigma on survivors. The results also highlight the need for societal shifts toward acknowledging and validating experiences of SV in men and sexual minorities, alongside women, and the development of intersectionality-informed interventions for SV stigma in survivors.

Difficult childhood experiences can lead to the development of early maladaptive schemas (EMS) that cause emotional and behavioral problems later in life. The present study examined the role of cognitive distortions in mediating relationships between EMS and aggression in adults as a function of sex. Participants were 59 women (M_age = 34.7 years, standard deviation [SD] = 8.0) and 86 men (M_age = 39.3 years, SD = 13.2) who completed the Young Schema Questionnaire—Short Form‐V3, the How I Think Questionnaire of cognitive distortions, and the Buss–Warren Aggression Questionnaire. Multiple mediation analysis identified EMS domain impaired limits to be uniquely and directly related to aggression, and the domain impaired autonomy to be indirectly related via a range of cognitive distortions. Multigroup analyses revealed no sex differences in these relationships, and analysis of covariance with age as a covariate revealed no sex differences in levels of EMS, cognitive distortion, or aggression. The results suggest that impaired limits and impaired autonomy are EMS domains of relevance to aggression regardless of sex. Furthermore, in the case of impaired autonomy, self‐serving, proaggression cognitive distortions appear to be involved. Interventions for aggression may thus benefit by focusing on clients with entitlement/grandiosity traits indicative of impaired limits, and vulnerability/dependence traits indicative of impaired autonomy, and in the latter case consider addressing the self‐serving cognitions that enable the expression of aggression in these clients.