Affective Touch in women with a personality disorder

Abstract

Abstract thesis Problems in social relationships are a core feature of personality disorders (PDs). Touch, and especially affective touch (AT), plays an important role in social life. AT is generally perceived as very pleasant and induces feelings of social closeness, while non-affective touch (NAT) is considered neutral. To be able to experience AT, a person needs to perceive and interpret bodily signals in a correct way. Problems with emotion regulation (ER) in PD patients might lead to a distortion in the interpretation of bodily changes, including touch. Interestingly, AT is known to be distorted in a number of mental disorders. The current research investigated whether the same holds true for PDs. The perception of AT was investigated in 31 female healthy controls (HCs) and 33 women who suffer from a PD. After receiving either AT or NAT, the experienced pleasantness was rated using the Touch Perception Test (TPT). It was expected that PD patients would rate AT as more pleasant than NAT, but that they would experience both AT and NAT as less pleasant than HCs. The results indeed showed that PD patients experience AT as less pleasant than HCs, however no difference between AT and NAT was found within the PD group. The results indicate that PD patients do not perceive a difference in pleasantness between AT and NAT. It is discussed whether this is due to a deficit in the CT afferent fiber system, or a cognitive deficit in the experience of touch. Further research is needed to determine which of these mechanisms underlies the distorted experience of AT in PDs.