Designing and testing a structural model of the antecedents of borderline personality disorder symptoms and quality of life in students

This study aimed to design and test a structural model of the antecedents of borderline personality symptoms including neuroticism, emotional intelligence, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies and the quality of life of university students. The research design was correlational and 300 students from the Payame-Noor University of Najafabad were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the NEO-FFI, the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, WHOQOL, and Schizotypal Trait Questionnaire-B form. To test the model, the structural equation modeling method was used. In this analysis, the maximum likelihood method was used to estimate the model parameters, and the bootstrap method was used to investigate the significance of the indirect effects of the model. Data were analyzed using SPSS-24 and AMOS-24 software. The results showed that the fit indices of the model are desirable. The results of studying the direct effects of the model showed that all direct effects, except the effect of emotional intelligence on borderline personality symptoms, were significant. The results of the bootstrap test also showed that the indirect effects of neuroticism and emotional intelligence on quality of life were significant. In general, these results indicate that emotion regulation strategies can mediate the relationship between personality traits, borderline personality symptoms and quality of life. Given the importance of emotion regulation strategies in explaining borderline personality symptoms and quality of life, it can be suggested to the university students’ mental health authorities to take appropriate interventions in this area.