This psychological network study examined conditional associations between self-esteem and ten culturally grounded inner strengths in 346 Thai university students who screened positive for borderline personality disorder symptoms. The most robust pattern linked generosity with loving-kindness, while self-esteem was consistently connected with determination and equanimity.
Key findings
- Most conditional associations were positive. Generosity and loving-kindness formed the strongest edge, while self-esteem showed comparatively consistent links with determination and equanimity. The male subsample produced a sparse network, and centrality rankings were highly unstable (CS = 0.13), preventing confident gender or node-importance conclusions.
Why this matters globally
By incorporating the Ten Pāramīs, the study broadens mental-health research from symptom measurement to culturally meaningful psychological resources. It can inform hypotheses and strengths-based university support, but it does not establish intervention effectiveness.
Thai researcher contribution
Researchers from Chiang Mai University led the culturally grounded design in a Thai student population and the cautious interpretation of the network results. Tinakon Wongpakaran served as corresponding author.
Limitations to consider
A positive screen is not a clinical diagnosis. Cross-sectional data cannot establish direction or causality, men were underrepresented, and centrality estimates were unstable. The results should not be used to rank the most important strength or prescribe individualized treatment.