UPPS-P impulsivity and borderline personality disorder traits in a community sample

Impulsivity is seen as a key feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) with rash action due to emotional states (or urgency) being prominent. Previous studies examining both positive and negative urgency have been equivocal as to which is most prominent. Further, issue due to the possible influence of impression management and self-deceptive enhancement have not been considered. Self-reported impulsivity was assessed as a function of traits of BPD in a large (>400) community sample. Zero-order correlations showed all scales of the UPPS-P were related to BPD traits. However, regression analysis showed that only impulsivity related to high negative emotions (Negative Urgency) was uniquely predictive of BPD traits. While both impression management and self-deceptive enhancement were negatively related to BPD traits, they did not influence the relationship between impulsivity and BPD. No major gender differences were noted. The results differ from a previous report that suggested that BPD traits were related to Positive Urgency and support that BPD is characterised by rash actions when feeling negative emotions. • Traits of Borderline Personality Disorder are associated with all forms of impulsivity. • Borderline Personality traits are associated with rash behaviour when under the influence of negative emotions (Negative Urgency). • Results were unaffected when issues of impression management and self-deceptive enhancement were examined. • No strong gender differences were noted in the relationships between Borderline Personality traits and impulsivity.