Posted on: July 28, 2016/
Lonliness could be a cause of paranoia, and reducing loneliness could significantly decrease paranoid beliefs, a study published online in theJournal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry shows.
A team of German researchers manipulated perceived levels of loneliness in a sample of 60 healthy participants, and measured the changes in their state of paranoia. Participants’ overall proneness to psychosis was also considered.
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“Loneliness is a common problem in patients with schizophrenia, and may be particularly linked with persecutory ideation,” the authors wrote. “Nevertheless, its role as a potential risk factor in the formation and maintenance of persecutory delusions is largely unexplored.”
Induction of loneliness lead to more pronounced paranoia overall, and a decrease in loneliness was associated with a significant reduction in present paranoid beliefs, the team found.
In addition, “proneness to psychosis significantly moderated the impact of loneliness on paranoia,” the authors wrote.
“Persons with a pronounced level of proneness to psychosis showed a stronger reduction of paranoid beliefs as a consequence of a decrease in loneliness, than less prone individuals,” the study says.
The team recommended research in high-risk individuals on the association between loneliness and paranoia, and the possible implications for cognitive behavioral therapy.
– Terri Airov
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