To feel safe inside and out: The effect of self-compassion and social safeness underlie the relationship between parental invalidation and borderline features in sexual minority adults

ABSTRACT

Sexual minority (SM) individuals experience minority-related social stressors that increase their vulnerability to experience psychopathological symptoms. Invalidating environments include non-acceptance of emotional expressions, and constitute a risk factor for developing borderline personality traits. Although research suggests that self-compassion and social safeness can act as protective factors to SM people against the development of anxiety and depression, less is known about their role in borderline personality symptoms experienced by SM. This study aims to test the mediation effect of self-compassion and social safeness in the relationship between paternal and maternal invalidation and borderline traits in a sample of 132 SM individuals with aged between 18-63 years old (M = 34.3, SD = 11.4). Self-report questionnaires were completed using an online survey. Data were analysed through SPSS and PROCESS Macro. Results showed that self-compassion and social safeness mediate the relationship between both maternal and paternal invalidation and borderline traits. These seem to echo previous studies about the positive relationship between parental invalidation and borderline personality traits, and adds to it by suggesting that difficulties in experiencing self-compassion as well as in feeling socially safe are significant risk factors underlying this relationship. These results yield clinical implications for affirmative psychological interventions with SM individuals, which are fully discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual minorities
• parental invalidation
• borderline personality traits
• self-compassion
• social safeness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.