Behavioral Psychology / Psicología Conductua (BP) is published by IMR Press from Volume 33 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under the hybrid model (CC-BY-NC license or on a subscription basis), and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement.
, Joaquín García-Alandete 1, Sandra Pérez 1, Cristina Botella 2,31 Universidad Católica de Valencia “San Vicente Mártir”, España
2 Universidad Jaume I, España
3 CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, España
*Correspondencia: José H. Marco, Facultad de Psicología, Magisterio y Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad Católica de Valencia “San Vicente Mártir”, c/ Guillem de Castro, 175, 46008 Valencia (España).
E-mail: joseheliodoro.marco@ucv.es
Abstract
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with high incidence of suicide. Positive thoughts and beliefs can act as buffers that protect people against eventual suicide, despite the existence of important risk factors for suicide. Several studies have found a strong relationship between low levels of meaning in life and suicide risk. The aim of this research is to analyze the mediating role of meaning in life in the relationship between the risk factor depression and hopelessness. 80 patients with BPD participated. The results indicate that the meaning of life showed partial mediation effect between depression and hopelessness, 61% of the total effect of depression on hopelessness was mediated by the meaning of life. The results of this study confirm the hypothesis and indicate that meaning in life is a buffering factor for the risk of suicide. This result emphasizes the importance of meaning in life in the assessment and treatment for patients with BPD.
Keywords
- borderline personality disorder
- meaning in life
- depression
- hopelessness
- resilience