Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie der Freien Universität Berlin Rejection Sensitivity Etiological aspects and psychopathological impact Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) vorgelegt von Dipl.-Psych. Charlotte Rosenbach Berlin, 2013 Disputation am 10.09.2013 Erstgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Babette Renneberg Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Herbert Scheithauer Chapter 1 Introduction Rejection Sensitivity ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Construct of Rejection Sensitivity ............................................................................................................. 3 Measuring rejection sensitivity – the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire ...................................... 6 Etiology of rejection sensitivity .......................................................................................................................... 8 Correlates of rejection sensitivity ................................................................................................................... 10 Borderline Personality Disorder .......................................................................................................................... 12 Depression .................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Research objectives ................................................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2 Study 1: Rejected, excluded, ignored: The perception of social rejection and mental disorders – a review (Abgelehnt, ausgeschlossen, ignoriert: Die Wahrnehmung sozialer Zurückweisung und psychische Störungen - eine Übersicht) Abstract (english) ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 Einleitung ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Methodisches Vorgehen .......................................................................................................................................... 30 Ergebnisse ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Zusammenfassung ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 Diskussion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter 3 Study 2: Rejection sensitivity as a mediator of the relationship between experienced rejection and borderline and depressive symptoms Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Method ............................................................................................................................................................................ 64 Results............................................................................................................................................................................. 69 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 4 Study 3: Remembering Rejection: Specificity and Linguistic Styles of Rejection-Related Autobiographical Memories in Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 83 Method ............................................................................................................................................................................ 90 Results............................................................................................................................................................................. 95 Discussion .................................................................................................................................................................. 103 Chapter 5 General discussion Main results ............................................................................................................................................................... 109 Study 1 .................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Study 2 .................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Study 3 .................................................................................................................................................................... 114 Additional research ................................................................................................................................................ 116 Social anxiety and rejection sensitivity ..................................................................................................... 116 Rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents ................................................................................. 117 Limitations and future research ....................................................................................................................... 119 Clinical implications ............................................................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 6 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 125 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 129 Appendix ........................................................................................................................................................ 143 List of figures ................................................................................................................................................ 148 List of tables .................................................................................................................................................. 149 Zusammenfassung ...................................................................................................................................... 150 Selbstständigkeitserklärung................................................................................................................... 154 Introduction Chapter 1 I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat (Sylvester Stallone). Sometimes I feel my whole life has been one big rejection (Marilyn Monroe). Experiences of rejection by others belong to everyone’s life. It might be the missing invitation to a friend’s party, the refusal of a job opportunity, the end of a romantic relationship, or the reluctance of a stranger to talk to you – it all leads primarily to negative feelings like sadness or anger. How individuals interpret these experiences and further cope with them depends on diverse intra- and interpersonal factors. Both Sylvester Stallone and Marilyn Monroe (quotes above) referred to experiences of rejection. While Mr. Stallone takes rejection as a motivation to engage even more in his career, Ms. Monroe looks at rejection as permanent and life-impairing. One’s perspective on experiencing rejection and the interpretation of the experience of rejection vary to a great degree. One factor that helps to understand such differences in the perception of and reaction to rejection is the construct of rejection sensitivity (Feldman & Downey, 1994). Individuals high in rejection sensitivity tend to be extremely aware of social rejection cues and often react inappropriately in response to perceived rejection. They 1 report a long history of repeated experiences of rejection and are vulnerable to psychological distress. A wide range of publications offer first attempts to identify etiological as well as social, behavioral, and neurocognitive correlates of rejection sensitivity. This thesis focuses on rejection sensitivity in two of the most frequent disorders it is associated with: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Major Depression (MDD). First, an overview over existing empirical