title: Psychological investigation of the structure of paranoia in a non-clinical population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies of paranoia have assessed only limited numbers of paranoid thoughts, and have not considered the experience from a multidimensional perspective or examined the relationship between different suspicious thoughts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess a wide range of paranoid thoughts multidimensionally and examine their distribution, to identify the associated coping strategies and to examine social-cognitive processes and paranoia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six questionnaire assessments were completed by 1202 individuals using the internet.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Paranoid thoughts occurred regularly in approximately a third of the group. Increasing endorsement of paranoid thoughts was characterised by the recruitment of rarer and odder ideas. Higher levels of paranoia were associated with emotional and avoidant coping, less use of rational and detached coping, negative attitudes to emotional expression, submissive behaviours and lower social rank.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suspiciousness is common and there may be a hierarchical arrangement of such thoughts that builds on common emotional concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, PO Box 77, Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK. D.Freeman@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Philippa A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Garety
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Bebbington
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rollinson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuipers
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D013850:Thinking