-
Schizophrenia Bulletin Apr 2018Humans possess a basic need to belong and will join groups even when they provide no practical benefit. Paranoid symptoms imply a disruption of the processes involved in...
Humans possess a basic need to belong and will join groups even when they provide no practical benefit. Paranoid symptoms imply a disruption of the processes involved in belonging and social trust. Past research suggests that joining social groups and incorporating those groups into one's identity (social identification) promotes positive self-views and better physical and mental health. However, no research has investigated whether social identity is associated with paranoia, nor the mechanisms by which this effect may emerge. Here, we examined the relationship between social identity and mental health (paranoia, auditory verbal hallucinations [AVHs], and depression), and tested the mediating role of self-esteem. In study 1, we analyzed data collected from 4319 UK residents as part of the NIHR CLAHRC NWC Household Health Survey. Study 2 comprised data collected from 1167 students attending a large UK university. The studies provided convergent evidence that social identification reduces symptoms of paranoia and depression by furnishing people with self-esteem. There was no consistent effect of social identification on AVHs. People developing mental health assessments, treatments, and policies are encouraged to consider the notion that joining and identifying with social groups may reduce people's risk of paranoia and depression.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Depressive Disorder; Female; Hallucinations; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Paranoid Disorders; Psychotic Disorders; Self Concept; Social Identification; United Kingdom; Young Adult
PubMed: 28981888
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx110 -
Clinical and Experimental Allergy :... Apr 2020
Topics: Anaphylaxis; Humans; Paranoid Disorders
PubMed: 32239570
DOI: 10.1111/cea.13600 -
Early Intervention in Psychiatry Dec 2022Thinking biases are posited to be involved in the genesis and maintenance of delusions. Persecutory delusions are one of the most commonly occurring delusional subtypes... (Review)
Review
AIM
Thinking biases are posited to be involved in the genesis and maintenance of delusions. Persecutory delusions are one of the most commonly occurring delusional subtypes and cause substantial distress and disability to the individuals experiencing them. Their clinical relevance confers a rationale for investigating them. Particularly, this review aims to elucidate which cognitive biases are involved in their development and persistence.
METHODS
MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Global Health were searched from the year 2000 to June 2020. A formal narrative synthesis was employed to report the findings and a quality assessment of included studies was conducted.
RESULTS
Twenty five studies were included. Overall, 18 thinking biases were identified. Hostility and trustworthiness judgement biases appeared to be specific to persecutory delusions while jumping to conclusions, self-serving attributional biases and belief inflexibility were proposed to be more closely related to other delusional subtypes. While the majority of the biases identified were suggested to be involved in delusion maintenance, hostility biases, need for closure and personalizing attributional biases were believed to also have aetiological influences.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings show that some cognitive biases are specific to paranoid psychosis and appear to be involved in the formation and/or persistence of persecutory delusions.
Topics: Humans; Delusions; Paranoid Disorders; Bias; Psychotic Disorders
PubMed: 35396904
DOI: 10.1111/eip.13292 -
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Nov 2020Undoubtedly, the two leaders who were under enormous pressure during World War II (WWII) were Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin' since their respective countries had...
Undoubtedly, the two leaders who were under enormous pressure during World War II (WWII) were Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin' since their respective countries had to sustain most of the war weight, at least in Europe. Lord Moran recounted in his memoir Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival that he had diagnosed a middle-aged Churchill with bipolar disorder. Churchill himself often referred to his periods of intense and prolonged depression as his "black dog." On the contrary, not much is known about Stalin's mental conditions, although in 1927 the neurologist V. M. Bekhterev, the day prior to his sudden death, upon a long examination of the leader's mental status, declared that he had found him affected by paranoia. No chemical evidence via clinical chemistry analyses was provided for the two leaders, though. We have had access to the collection of books (stored in the Russian Government Archive of Social and Political History, RGASPI, of the former Institute of Marxism and Leninism under the Central Committee of the USSR Communist Party) that Stalin was reading during WWII, with pages containing personal annotations on the margins. Upon harvesting surface material via EVA disks (ethylene-vinyl acetate studded with strong cation and anion exchangers and C-C resins) and instrumental analysis via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we detected lithium levels (~ 100 ± 8 ng/cm) compatible with those present in the sweat and/or saliva of patients treated with lithium salts for curing bipolarity and paranoia or probably gout. These data are the first clear indication that Stalin was under cure for this pathology.Graphical abstract.
Topics: Aged; Bipolar Disorder; Famous Persons; History, 20th Century; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Paranoid Disorders
PubMed: 32876722
DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02914-z -
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy Jan 2022Negative beliefs about the self, including low self-compassion, have been identified as a putative causal factor in the occurrence of paranoia. Therefore, improving...
BACKGROUND
Negative beliefs about the self, including low self-compassion, have been identified as a putative causal factor in the occurrence of paranoia. Therefore, improving self-compassion may be one route to reduce paranoia.
AIMS
To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential clinical effects of a brief compassionate imagery intervention for patients with persecutory delusions.
METHOD
Twelve patients with persecutory delusions received an individual four-session compassionate imagery intervention. Assessments of self-concept and paranoia were completed before treatment, immediately after treatment, and at 1-month follow-up. A qualitative study exploring participants' experiences of the treatment was also completed.
RESULTS
Twelve out of 14 eligible patients referred to the study agreed to take part. All participants completed all therapy sessions and assessments. Post-treatment, there were improvements in self-compassion (change score -0.64, 95% CI -1.04, -0.24, d = -1.78), negative beliefs about the self (change score 2.42, 95% CI -0.37, 5.20, d = 0.51), and paranoia (change score 10.08, 95% CI 3.47, 16.69, d = 0.61). There were no serious adverse events. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: 'effortful learning', 'seeing change' and 'taking it forward'. Participants described a process of active and effortful engagement in therapy which was rewarded with positive changes, including feeling calmer, gaining clarity, and developing acceptance.
CONCLUSION
This uncontrolled feasibility study indicates that a brief compassionate imagery intervention for patients with persecutory delusions is feasible, acceptable, and may lead to clinical benefits.
Topics: Delusions; Empathy; Humans; Imagery, Psychotherapy; Paranoid Disorders; Self-Compassion
PubMed: 34078499
DOI: 10.1017/S1352465821000229 -
Behavior Therapy Jul 2024Aggression is a transdiagnostic behavior that is associated with poor clinical outcomes. As such, it is important to understand factors that contribute to various...
Aggression is a transdiagnostic behavior that is associated with poor clinical outcomes. As such, it is important to understand factors that contribute to various manifestations of aggressive behavior. Recent research has revealed a subtype of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) who tend to display relatively high amounts of aggression and experience more severe social anxiety and dysfunction compared to individuals in the prototypical SAD group. The current study used a status threat manipulation along with behavioral indices of aggression to examine the impact of paranoia and social anxiety symptom severity on aggression in a sample of undergraduates with social anxiety (N = 220). Analyses indicated that paranoia uniquely predicted indirect aggression whereas an interaction between social status threat, paranoia, and social anxiety severity uniquely predicted direct aggression. These findings suggest that paranoia may be a particularly important contributor to aggression among individuals with social anxiety.
Topics: Humans; Aggression; Male; Female; Paranoid Disorders; Young Adult; Phobia, Social; Anxiety; Adolescent; Adult
PubMed: 38937053
DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2023.12.003 -
Psychological Medicine Oct 2018Paranoid ideation is a core feature of psychosis, and models of paranoia have long proposed that it arises in the context of disturbances in the perception of the self....
Paranoid ideation is a core feature of psychosis, and models of paranoia have long proposed that it arises in the context of disturbances in the perception of the self. However, to develop targeted interventions, there is a benefit in clarifying further, which aspects of self-perception are implicated. Interpersonal sensitivity is a personality trait which has been associated with the risk of paranoid thinking in the general population. However, not all studies have found this link. We aimed to review the empirical literature assessing the association between interpersonal sensitivity and paranoia in both general population and clinical samples; and to explore if associations found differed depending on whether state or trait paranoia was assessed. The review followed PRISMA guidelines. Articles were identified through a literature search in OVID (PsychINFO, MEDLINE) and Web of Science up to December 2016. Fourteen studies with a total of 12 138 participants were included. All studies were of 'fair' or 'good' quality. A robust association was found between interpersonal sensitivity and paranoia in clinical and general population samples alike, regardless of the method of assessment of both paranoia and interpersonal sensitivity. Although this finding was more pronounced in studies of trait paranoia, it is likely that differences in study purpose, measurement, and power explain these differences. Findings from this review support the hypothesis that feelings of personal vulnerability and exaggerated socially evaluative concerns are central for both onset and maintenance of paranoid symptoms, suggesting avenues for future research in targeted interventions.
Topics: Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Paranoid Disorders
PubMed: 29554985
DOI: 10.1017/S0033291718000491 -
Comprehensive Psychiatry Apr 2017Loneliness and paranoia are related, but the mechanisms that link them to each other remain unclear. Systematic reviews on loneliness propose a social-cognitive model in...
Loneliness and paranoia are related, but the mechanisms that link them to each other remain unclear. Systematic reviews on loneliness propose a social-cognitive model in which loneliness leads to negative evaluations of other persons and a lack of interpersonal trust. However, the data discussed in these reviews are based on healthy individuals. Building on this model, the present study investigated 1) whether negative interpersonal schemata mediate the association between loneliness and paranoia and 2) whether a low level of perceived social support and less frequent social contact are related to loneliness. Using a cross-sectional design, sixty-five participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited online and completed questionnaire-based measures of loneliness, paranoia, negative interpersonal schemata, perceived social support and frequency of social contact. Data were analyzed taking a path-analytic approach. The association between loneliness and paranoia was significantly and fully mediated by negative schemata of others. Moreover, a low level of perceived social support was significantly associated with loneliness, whereas self-reported frequency of social contact was not. The present results highlight the potential role of interpersonal negative schemata in the formation and maintenance of paranoia and elucidate the crucial role of loneliness in the way individuals construe themselves within a social environment.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Loneliness; Male; Middle Aged; Paranoid Disorders; Perception; Schizophrenic Psychology; Self Report; Social Behavior; Social Support; Young Adult
PubMed: 28092774
DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.12.007 -
PLoS Computational Biology Jul 2022Theoretical accounts suggest heightened uncertainty about the state of the world underpin aberrant belief updates, which in turn increase the risk of developing a...
Theoretical accounts suggest heightened uncertainty about the state of the world underpin aberrant belief updates, which in turn increase the risk of developing a persecutory delusion. However, this raises the question as to how an agent's uncertainty may relate to the precise phenomenology of paranoia, as opposed to other qualitatively different forms of belief. We tested whether the same population (n = 693) responded similarly to non-social and social contingency changes in a probabilistic reversal learning task and a modified repeated reversal Dictator game, and the impact of paranoia on both. We fitted computational models that included closely related parameters that quantified the rigidity across contingency reversals and the uncertainty about the environment/partner. Consistent with prior work we show that paranoia was associated with uncertainty around a partner's behavioural policy and rigidity in harmful intent attributions in the social task. In the non-social task we found that pre-existing paranoia was associated with larger decision temperatures and commitment to suboptimal cards. We show relationships between decision temperature in the non-social task and priors over harmful intent attributions and uncertainty over beliefs about partners in the social task. Our results converge across both classes of model, suggesting paranoia is associated with a general uncertainty over the state of the world (and agents within it) that takes longer to resolve, although we demonstrate that this uncertainty is expressed asymmetrically in social contexts. Our model and data allow the representation of sociocognitive mechanisms that explain persecutory delusions and provide testable, phenomenologically relevant predictions for causal experiments.
Topics: Delusions; Humans; Learning; Paranoid Disorders; Social Learning; Uncertainty
PubMed: 35877675
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010326 -
American Journal of Therapeutics 2017
Topics: Adult; Antipsychotic Agents; Anxiety; Humans; Lamotrigine; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic; Male; Paranoid Disorders
PubMed: 28005556
DOI: 10.1097/MJT.0000000000000515