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BackgroundThe attributional theory of paranoia suggests that paranoid beliefs may protect individuals from low self-esteem and distress (Bentall et al. 2001). The current study tested this theory by investigating a hypothesis that paranoid beliefs in combination with low perceived deservedness of persecution (poor-me beliefs) confer protection against the distress caused by social but not activity related stress.MethodsParanoid symptoms, perceived deservedness of persecution, self-esteem, mood, and stress levels of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N = 91) and healthy controls (N = 52) were assessed in the context of daily life using the experience sampling method.ResultsIndividuals holding poor-me beliefs (poor-me individuals) showed blunted sensitivity to social but not activity stress. In contrast, individuals holding paranoid beliefs in combination with high perceived deservedness of persecution (bad-me individuals) showed heightened sensitivity to social stress. No consistent differences in reactions to activity stress emerged. Although both poor-me and bad-me individuals reported low self-esteem, this disturbance was particularly characteristic of bad-me individuals.ConclusionsThe results suggest that poor-me paranoid beliefs may protect individuals against the distress associated with unpleasant social situations. The specificity of reactions to social stress is discussed in the context of wider literature. Future directions for research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BackgroundExperience Sampling Methodology (ESM) is ideally suited to test the predictions, and inform the development of contemporary cognitive models of depression. Yet there has been no systematic examination of ESM in depression research.MethodA search of databases (PsychARTICLES, PsycINFO, AMED, Ovid Medline and CINAHL) was conducted to identify studies published within the last 25 years investigating major depressive disorder (MDD) using ESM.ResultsAltogether, 19 studies using ESM, or comparable methodologies, with clinically depressed individuals were identified and critically reviewed. The identified studies examined six aspects of MDD: methodological issues; positive and negative affect; cortisol secretion; antidepressant treatment; work performance; genetic risk factors.ConclusionsDespite some methodological limitations of existing studies, ESM has made a significant contribution to our current understanding of depression by consolidating existing theories, uncovering new and clinically relevant findings and identifying questions for future research. This review concludes by introducing the possibility of using ESM as an intervention tool in clinical practice and proposing that ESM could be useful for furthering knowledge of the causes of MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BACKGROUND: A tendency to make hasty decisions on probabilistic reasoning tasks and a difficulty attributing mental states to others are key cognitive features of persecutory delusions (PDs) in the context of schizophrenia. This study examines whether these same psychological anomalies characterize PDs when they present in the context of psychotic depression. METHOD: Performance on measures of probabilistic reasoning and theory of mind (ToM) was examined in five subgroups differing in diagnostic category and current illness status. RESULTS: The tendency to draw hasty decisions in probabilistic settings and poor ToM tested using story format feature in PDs irrespective of diagnosis. Furthermore, performance on the ToM story task correlated with the degree of distress caused by and preoccupation with the current PDs in the currently deluded groups. By contrast, performance on the non-verbal ToM task appears to be more sensitive to diagnosis, as patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders perform worse on this task than those with depression irrespective of the presence of PDs. CONCLUSIONS: The psychological anomalies associated with PDs examined here are transdiagnostic but different measures of ToM may be more or less sensitive to indices of severity of the PDs, diagnosis and trait- or state-related cognitive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The substantial literature examining social reasoning in people with delusions has, to date, neglected the commonest form of decision making in daily life. We address this imbalance by reporting here the findings of the first study to explore heuristic reasoning in people with persecutory delusions.Method. People with active or remitted paranoid delusions, depressed and healthy adults performed two novel heuristic reasoning tasks that varied in emotional valence.Results. The findings indicated that people with persecutory delusions displayed biases during heuristic reasoning that were most obvious when reasoning about threatening and positive material. Clear similarities existed between the currently paranoid group and the depressed group in terms of their reasoning about the likelihood of events happening to them, with both groups tending to believe that pleasant things would not happen to them. However, only the currently paranoid group showed an increased tendency to view other people as threatening.Conclusion. This study has initiated the exploration of heuristic reasoning in paranoia and depression. The findings have therapeutic utility and future work could focus on the differentiation of paranoia and depression at a cognitive level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have shown that there are overlapping traits and symptoms between autism and psychosis but no study to date has addressed this association from an epidemiological approach in the adult general population. Furthermore, it is not clear whether autistic traits are associated with specific symptoms of psychosis or with psychosis in general. We assess these associations for the first time by using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2007 and the APMS 2014, predicting an association between autistic traits and probable psychosis, and specific associations between autistic traits and paranoia and strange experiences., Methods: Participants (N = 7353 in 2007 and 7500 in 2014) completed the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire (PSQ) and a 20-item version of the Autism Quotient (AQ-20). Binomial logistic regressions were performed using AQ-20 as the independent variable and probable psychosis and specific symptoms as dependent variables., Results: In the APMS 2007 dataset, significant associations were found between autism traits and probable psychosis, paranoia, thought insertion, and strange experiences. These results were replicated in APMS 2014 but with the additional significant association between autistic traits and hallucinations. Participants in the highest quartile of the AQ-20, compared with the lowest quartile, had an increased risk of probable psychosis of odds ratio (OR) = 15.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.57-52.6] in APMS 2007 and OR = 22.5 (95% CI 7.64-66.3) in APMS 2014., Conclusions: Autistic traits are strongly associated with probable psychosis and psychotic experiences with the exception of mania. Limitations such as the cross-sectional nature of the study are discussed.