Objective: When a client feels a threat to their freedom or autonomy as a result of external feedback, they can act out and respond in maladaptive ways. This state-referred to as reactance-has potential ramifications on interpersonal functioning. However, the underlying factors exacerbating this response including self-esteem and gender are yet to be extensively explored in a clinical sample. The present study examined whether verbal and/or behavioural reactance mediate the relationship between self-esteem and interpersonal problems and if this mediational relationship differs between men and women.
Method: Patients with personality dysfunction (N = 136) completed pretreatment assessments of reactance, self-esteem, and interpersonal problems, and a conditional process model using these constructs was tested.
Results: Findings indicated that the moderated mediation model was significant, pointing to behavioural reactance as a significant mediator in the association between self-esteem and interpersonal problems. Furthermore, the findings revealed that gender moderated the relationship between self-esteem and behavioural reactance, indicating that this association may apply specifically to men low in self-esteem.
Discussion: These results shed light on how behavioural reactance may be an important manifestation of low self-esteem for men and a key contributor to their interpersonal problems. The findings draw attention to the importance of considering different factors at play when working with reactant individuals in therapy.
Keywords: gender; interpersonal problems; psychotherapy; reactance; self-esteem.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.