Lee et al. (2023) found that in individuals with BPD, impulsivity often operates in a continuous, reciprocal cycle within an invalidating environment. In their study, BPD participants with higher impulsivity scores also reported highly invalidating home environments, as measured by the Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale. These environments often resemble frustration-laden or extreme authoritative parenting styles, where low self-control triggers harsh punishment, which in turn fuels further impulsivity.

Invalidating Environment: Looking at Individuals with BPD

For EDs, similar patterns emerge. Based on Linehan’s biosocial theory, individuals may perceive certain emotions as unacceptable to experience. Haslam et al. (2008) examined the relationship between invalidating environments (particularly parental care) and emotional dysregulation in ED patients. They found that higher levels of impulsivity were positively correlated with reports of invalidating environments. Importantly, these environments were more strongly associated with bulimic pathology than with anorexic pathology, aligning with the fact that BN shares more impulsivity-related traits with BPD.

- This evidence suggests that invalidating environments and impulsivity may form a common developmental pathway linking BPD and BN.

Invalidating Environment: Looking at Individuals with ED 

Linehan's research emphasizes the effects of the invalidating environment and the continuous cycle it creates. This cycle can ultimately begin with specific traits that an individual may be predisposed to from birth. These traits include:

- Impulsivity
- Emotional Vulnerability

This creates the cycle illustrated below:

Low self-control → harsh punishment → increased impulsivity.

Saint Olaf College

- BPD Development and Environment: Linehan's model proposes that BPD does not develop solely due to genetics, but is significantly influenced by an individual's environment (Lee et al., 2023). This environment can alter an individual's actions and coping mechanisms, particularly those with BPD.

- Definition of an Invalidating Environment: An invalidating environment encompasses not only overt forms of harm, such as neglect or physical abuse, but also subtler forms of harm, such as permissive parenting or being excessively involved in a child’s life (Lee et al., 2023).

- The Importance of Balance in Parenting: A crucial aspect of avoiding an invalidating environment lies in finding a balance between being hands-on in a child's life and allowing for their interdependence. This equilibrium between hands-on involvement and fostering interdependence will manifest uniquely across different developmental stages of a child's life.

The "Invalidating Environment": Linehan's Biosocial Model

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Reference List: Comorbidity of Borderline Personality Disorder and Eating Disorders

Haslam, M., Mountford, V., Meyer, C., & Waller, G. (2008). Invalidating childhood environment in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Eating Behaviors, 9(3), 313–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.10.005

Invalidating childhood environment in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. 

The Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale (ICES) is a “ retrospective self-report measure of parental invalidating behaviors up to age 18 years” (Lee et al. 2023). It is a highly validated and consistent Likert scale where children assess the invalidating parental behaviors from one (never) to five (all of the time). Examples include items like "My [father or mother] would tell me I was overreacting when I was upset" and "My [father or mother] would get angry if I expressed negative feelings" (Lee et al. 2023). These examples demonstrate that an invalidating environment consists of dismissing the emotions of the child, making it even more difficult for said child to regulate their emotions.

The Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale 

The Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS) measures emotional vulnerability across three subscales: sensitivity, intensity, and persistence (Lee et al., 2023). It is helpful to find a type of measurement for these variables, not only for coding purposes, but to interpret the level of emotional vulnerability each individual has–it looks different for everyone. Some individuals react quickly and feel it more strongly than others. Some examples from the scale include: “when I experience emotions, I feel them very strongly/intensely”, and “when something happens that upsets me, it’s all I can think about for a long time” (Lee et al. 2023). Higher scores indicate higher emotional reactivity, which is often the case for individuals with BPD and who score high on the ICES. 

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