Mistrust and negative self ‐esteem: Two paths from attachment styles to paranoia

ConclusionsWe find that a bias towards mistrust is associated with greater paranoia. We also find indirect effects through bias towards mistrust between attachment styles and paranoia. Finally, we reaffirm the strong indirect effect through negative self ‐esteem between attachment anxiety and paranoia. Limitations of the study are discussed.Practitioner points When working with individuals suffering from paranoia, clinicians should consider not only explicit, deliberative cognitive processes of the kind addressed in cognitive behaviour therapy (e.g. cognitive restructuring) but also the way in which their patients make perceptual judgements (e.g., their immediate reactions on encountering new people) and consider interventions targeted at these judgements, for example, bias modification training. Assessment and clinical interventions for people should consider the role of trust judgements and the way in which they combine with low self ‐esteem to provoke paranoid beliefs. Psychological interventions targeting paranoid beliefs should focus on both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.
Source: Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research