Interpersonal sensitivity in those at clinical high risk for psychosis mediates the association between childhood bullying victimisation and paranoid ideation: A virtual reality study.

Background: Experience of bullying victimisation in childhood and heightened interpersonal sensitivity have been independently linked to the clinical high risk for psychosis.

Aim: To examine the potential mediating effect of interpersonal sensitivity in explaining the link between childhood bullying victimisation and real-time paranoid ideation in adult participants at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Method: In a cross-sectional study data were collected for 64 individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Measures included history of bullying victimisation, interpersonal sensitivity and state paranoid ideation following exposure to a social virtual reality environment. The virtual reality scenario was a London Underground journey.

Results: Path analysis indicated that interpersonal sensitivity fully explained the significant association between severe bullying victimisation in childhood and paranoid ideation in the clinical-high risk group. Based on AIC criteria the best model selected was the full mediation model: severe bullying→interpersonal sensitivity→state paranoid ideation. The results suggest that severity of bullying is more important than frequency of bullying in explaining state paranoid ideation.

Conclusions: The significant role played by interpersonal sensitivity in the association between being bullied in childhood and paranoid ideation in the clinical high risk group suggests that this could become a target for intervention.