Thought suppression and persecutory delusion-like beliefs in a nonclinical sample.
BACKGROUND
Thought suppression may play a role in the formation and/or maintenance of persecutory delusions, although this possibility has not yet been empirically studied. We investigated thought suppression levels in relation to the presence of persecutory delusion-like beliefs (PDLBs), and hypothesised that only when levels of anxiety or negative affect were high would thought suppression predict levels of PDLBs.


METHODS
Thought suppression, anxiety, negative affect, social desirability, and persecutory ideation were assessed in a nonclinical sample (N=183) using online questionnaires.


RESULTS
When gender, anxiety, and negative affect were controlled, the interaction between thought suppression and anxiety predicted levels of PDLBs. Further analysis of this interaction showed that thought suppression was positively associated with PDLBs only when anxiety was high. Neither thought suppression by itself, nor the two-way interaction between negative affect and thought suppression, nor the three-way interaction between negative affect, anxiety, and thought suppression, were predictors of PDLB levels.


CONCLUSIONS
The results are consistent with a proposed interaction between thought suppression and anxiety in the development of PDLBs. Possible causal mechanisms underlying this relation are considered further, future research in the area proposed, and potential clinical implications examined.
Jones
Simon R
SR
Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK. s.r.jones@durham.ac.uk
Fernyhough
Charles
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003469:Culture; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010258:Paranoid Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012928:Social Desirability; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking