Cross-cultural validation of the revised Green et al., paranoid thoughts scale.

Background: With efforts increasing worldwide to understand and treat paranoia, there is a pressing need for cross-culturally valid assessments of paranoid beliefs. The recently developed Revised Green et al., Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS) constitutes an easy to administer self-report assessment of mild ideas of reference and more severe persecutory thoughts.

A meta-analysis on the efficacy of low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy for generalised anxiety disorder.

Background: Low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (LICBT) has been recommended as a primary intervention in the tiered care for mild to moderate generalised anxiety disorder. However, LICBT for generalised anxiety disorder are markedly diverse and efficacy data on various outcomes have not been systematically reviewed. This meta-analysis aimed to synthesise effect sizes of three NICE-recommended LICBT for generalised anxiety disorder: non-facilitated self-help, guided self-help, and psychoeducational groups.

Differentiating paranoia and conspiracy mentality using a network approach.

Although mostly considered distinct, conspiracy mentality and paranoia share conceptual similarities (e.g., persecutory content, resistance to disconfirming evidence).

The role of loneliness and negative schemas in the moment-to-moment dynamics between social anxiety and paranoia.

Social anxiety and paranoia often co-occur and exacerbate each other. While loneliness and negative schemas contribute to the development of social anxiety and paranoia separately, their role in the development of the two symptoms co-occurring is rarely considered longitudinally. This study examined the moment-to-moment relationship between social anxiety and paranoia, as well as the effects of loneliness and negative schemas on both experiences individually and coincidingly.

Neurophysiological evidence of motor preparation in inner speech and the effect of content predictability.

Self-generated overt actions are preceded by a slow negativity as measured by electroencephalogram, which has been associated with motor preparation. Recent studies have shown that this neural activity is modulated by the predictability of action outcomes. It is unclear whether inner speech is also preceded by a motor-related negativity and influenced by the same factor.

The role of general vs pandemic-specific paranoid ideation in the use of recommended health behaviors and vaccine willingness during a worldwide pandemic: An international study in the general public.

Background: The public's adherence to recommended COVID-19 preventative behaviors, including vaccinations and social distancing, has been low in certain groups and has contributed to many preventable deaths worldwide. An examination of general and pandemic-specific aspects of nonclinical paranoid ideation may aid in the understanding of the public's response to the pandemic, given that it is a global threat event.

Methods: A representative international sample of general adults (N = 2,510) from five international sites were recruited with stratified quota sampling.

Moment-to-moment affective dynamics in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Background: Affective disturbances in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may represent a transdiagnostic etiological process as well as a target of intervention. Hypotheses on similarities and differences in various parameters of affective dynamics (intensity, successive/acute changes, variability, and reactivity to stress) between the two disorders were tested.

Methods: Experience sampling method was used to assess dynamics of positive and negative affect, 10 times a day over 6 consecutive days.

Selective processing in attention and memory in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of the negative priming effect.

Individuals with schizophrenia show impairments in a variety of selective attention tasks. Research on the negative priming (NP) effect in schizophrenia has yielded mixed evidence. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the NP effect exhibited by patients with schizophrenia and the impact of study methodology on findings.

18-month trajectories of delusional dimensions in young adults: Relationship with reasoning biases and worry.

Background: It has been argued that what differentiates delusional ideation from full-blown delusions (indicating need for care) is not the number of beliefs, but the experiential dimensions such as conviction, distress, and preoccupation. However, how these dimensions evolve over time and affect outcomes is under-researched. While delusional conviction and distress are associated with reasoning biases and worry respectively in clinical samples, how these processes predict trajectories of delusional dimensions in the general population remains unclear.

The co-occurrence of multidimensional loneliness with depression, social anxiety and paranoia in non-clinical young adults: A latent profile analysis.

Introduction: Loneliness is a negative experience arising from a mismatch between perceived and actual social relationships. Several dimensions of loneliness have been suggested, namely intimate, relational and collective loneliness. Loneliness has been linked to poorer mental health, with its co-occurrence with depression, social anxiety, and paranoia most widely reported.

Pandemic paranoia in the general population: international prevalence and sociodemographic profile.

Background: The term 'pandemic paranoia' has been coined to refer to heightened levels of mistrust and suspicion towards other people specifically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examine the international prevalence of pandemic paranoia in the general population and its associated sociodemographic profile.

Methods: A representative international sample of general population adults ( = 2510) from five sites (USA = 535, Germany = 516, UK = 512, Australia = 502 and Hong Kong = 445) were recruited using stratified quota sampling (for age, sex, educational attainment) and completed the Pandemic Paranoia Scale (PPS).

A network analysis on the relationship between loneliness and schizotypy.

Background: Schizotypy is a multidimensional personality trait related to the heightened risk for the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While it has been suggested that loneliness may be associated with schizotypy in general, whether it relates to the specific schizotypal traits differentially remains unknown. Besides, as loneliness often co-occurs with depression and anxiety, it is important to delineate its relationship with schizotypy in consideration of these co-occurring emotional disturbances.

Taking a machine learning approach to optimize prediction of vaccine hesitancy in high income countries.

Understanding factors driving vaccine hesitancy is crucial to vaccination success. We surveyed adults (N = 2510) from February to March 2021 across five sites (Australia = 502, Germany = 516, Hong Kong = 445, UK = 512, USA = 535) using a cross-sectional design and stratified quota sampling for age, sex, and education. We assessed willingness to take a vaccine and a comprehensive set of putative predictors.

Pandemic paranoia, general paranoia, and their relationships with worry and beliefs about self/others - A multi-site latent class analysis.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in paranoid thinking has been reported internationally. The development of the Pandemic Paranoia Scale (PPS) has provided a reliable assessment of various facets of pandemic paranoia. This study aimed to (i) identify classes of individuals with varying levels of general paranoia and pandemic paranoia, and (ii) examine associations between classification and worry, core beliefs, and pro-health behaviours.

Efficacy of Motivational Interviewing in Treating Co-occurring Psychosis and Substance Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

A wealth of evidence has supported the efficacy of motivational interviewing (MI) in reducing substance use as well as other addictive behaviors. In view of the common co-occurrence of substance use disorder among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, there has been increased attention to applying MI in psychological interventions for individuals with co-occurring psychosis and substance use disorder. This review aims to synthesize the evidence on the efficacy of MI interventions (either as a stand-alone intervention or in combination with other psychological interventions) in reducing substance use and psychotic symptoms.

Inflexibility in Reasoning: Comparisons of Cognitive Flexibility, Explanatory Flexibility, and Belief Flexibility Between Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder.

Inflexibility in reasoning has been suggested to contribute to psychiatric disorders, such as explanatory flexibility in depression and belief flexibility in schizophrenia. However, studies tended to examine only one of the flexibility constructs, which could be related to each other, within a single group of patients. As enhancing flexibility in thinking has become one of the psychological treatment goals across disorders, this study aimed to examine three constructs of flexibility (cognitive flexibility, explanatory flexibility, and belief flexibility) in two psychiatric groups.

White matter integrity in young medication-naïve bipolar II depressed adults.

It is unknown if young medication-naïve bipolar II (BPII) depressed patients have increased white matter (WM) disruptions. 27 each of young (average 23 years) and treatment-naïve BPII depressed, unipolar depressed (UD) patients and age-sex-education matched healthy controls (HC) underwent 3 T MRIs with diffusion tensor imaging. Diagnostic ratings included Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID), Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A).

Efficacy of Phase 1 of Life Goals Programme on symptom reduction and mood stability for bipolar disorder.

Background: Life Goals Programme (LGP) was developed as a psychological intervention for bipolar disorder, with its structured 6-session psychoeducation phase (Phase 1) targeting understanding of the disorder, medication adherence, early warning signs, and coping with symptoms and triggers. The present study tested the efficacy of Phase 1 of the LGP on symptom recovery and moment-by-moment mood stability, as well as medication adherence and quality of life.

Methods: Adults with bipolar disorder were randomly allocated to the LGP condition (six weekly group sessions) or the waitlist condition (six weeks of standard care, followed by the same LGP intervention).

Risk perception in paranoia and anxiety: Two investigations across clinical and non-clinical populations.

Objectives: It is common, among clinical and non-clinical populations alike, for paranoia and anxiety to co-occur. It has been suggested that anxiety and its related appraisal styles may contribute to development of paranoia. We aimed to evaluate different aspects of risk perception in relation to paranoia and anxiety and to identify specific aspects that may differentiate paranoia from anxiety.

Moment-to-moment dynamics between auditory verbal hallucinations and negative affect and the role of beliefs about voices.

Background: Negative affect (NA) has been suggested to be both an antecedent and a consequence of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). Furthermore, negative appraisals of voices have been theorized to contribute to the maintenance of AVH. Using the experience sampling method (ESM), this study examined the bi-directional relationship between NA and AVH, and the moderating effect of negative beliefs about voices.

Worry and metacognitions as predictors of the development of anxiety and paranoia.

Recent studies have shown that worry and related negative metacognitions are characteristic in generalized anxiety and paranoia respectively. However, most of these studies did not take into account common co-occurrence of anxiety and paranoia, and longitudinal modelling of the role of worry and metacognitions on the development of anxiety and paranoia is rare. The current study aimed at examining the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between anxiety and paranoia, as well as the importance of worry and metacognitions in the development of these symptoms.

Moment-to-moment interaction between affectivity and coping behaviours in bipolar disorder and the role of cognitive appraisals.

Background: Individuals with bipolar disorder respond to affective symptoms with a range of coping behaviours, which may further maintain the symptoms.

Aims: To examine moment-to-moment dynamics between affective states and coping behaviours, and to evaluate the role of cognitive appraisals of internal states as moderators.

Method: Forty-six individuals with bipolar disorder completed a clinical interview and an experience sampling assessment over 6 days.

Network analysis of schizotypal personality traits and their association with other subclinical psychiatric features.

Schizotypal personality (SP) traits have been found to be correlated with autistic traits, obsessive-compulsive traits, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. However, the overall pattern of the relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the network structure between SP traits and other subclinical features (symptoms or traits) and test the replicability of these relationships.

Loneliness and the psychosis continuum: a meta-analysis on positive psychotic experiences and a meta-analysis on negative psychotic experiences.

There is an increase in interest in the relationships between loneliness and psychosis. The notion of psychosis continuum implies that psychotic experiences extend from clinical populations with psychotic disorders to non-clinical populations. This meta-analytic review aimed to examine the respective associations of loneliness with positive and negative psychotic experiences along the psychosis continuum.