Histrionic Personality Features and Depression: The role of emotion regulation and need frustration

Abstract

From the perspective of Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the association between features of histrionic personality disorder and depression, as well as the mediating role of both maladaptive emotion regulation (experiential suppression, expressive suppression, dysregulation) and need frustration. A total of 166 participants filled in an online questionnaire (Mage = 24.26; SD = 3.43; 69.9% female). Results did not show a significant correlation between histrionic features and depressive symptoms, thus excluding a possible mediating effect of emotion regulation or need frustration. Explorative analyses about attention seeking and seduction, two HPD categories, showed that only seduction was correlated with need frustration. Lastly, in people that scored high in histrionicity, HP features were found to correlate with expressive suppression. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed and suggestions for future research are made. Possible interpretations of the results in terms of the “mask model of narcissism” are explored.