Objective: In this study we investigated for the first time the facial activity of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) compared to healthy controls during the Adult Attachment Projective (AAP). The AAP is a valid interview measure for assessing adult attachment representation. The attachment system is activated by eight attachment-related pictures. The subjects are asked to tell a story about each picture.
Methods: The affective facial behavior during the AAP interview in 15 female patients with BPD and 14 healthy women was coded using EMFACS. Affective facial behavior was compared between diagnostic and attachment groups (resolved versus unresolved trauma).
Results: As expected, there was a significantly higher number of BPD patients in the category "unresolved trauma" of the AAP. The BPD patients also showed significantly more disgust during the attachment task as compared to controls.
Conclusions: The two main results are discussed in the context of frequent traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse and emotional neglect suffered by BPD patients through their attachment figures.