Most researchers would agree that social cognition forms the basis for forming and maintaining successful and satisfying social relationships. In line, advancing our collective understanding of alterations of social cognition in personality disorder is crucial for improving the lives of individuals affected by these conditions. Although significant progress has been made in identifying the role of social cognition in the development and maintenance of personality disorders, there is still a gap in understanding the complex interplay between social cognitive processes and different domains of personality dysfunction. Importantly, the treatment outcomes of existing targeted interventions for personality disorders are still not fully satisfying in regard to improving psychosocial functioning and quality of life in this patient population.
Continued research on the interplay of alterations in social cognitive processing and different facets of personality functioning holds the potential to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of social dysfunction in personality disorders, paving the way for more effective and personalized treatment approaches.
One of the domains of personality functioning is intimacy, which has three aspects according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5): first, depth and duration of connection with others; second, desire and capacity for closeness; and finally, mutuality of regard reflected in interpersonal behavior (DSM-5-TR, APA, 2022, p. 883.).
In the Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation Collection ‘Feeling close to others? Social cognitive mechanisms of intimacy in personality disorders’, we aim to collect papers that apply experimental approaches in characterizing alterations of social cognitive processes and link these alterations to dysfunctions in the domain of intimacy. We welcome studies in the context of the categorical and dimensional approach to personality disorders using different methodological approaches ranging from behavioral measures to neural correlates of social cognition.
