title: Hear today, not gone tomorrow? An exploratory longitudinal study of auditory verbal hallucinations (hearing voices).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite an increasing volume of cross-sectional work on auditory verbal hallucinations (hearing voices), there remains a paucity of work on how the experience may change over time.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The first aim of this study was to attempt replication of a previous finding that beliefs about voices are enduring and stable, irrespective of changes in the severity of voices, and do not change without a specific intervention. The second aim was to examine whether voice-hearers' interrelations with their voices change over time, without a specific intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 12-month longitudinal examination of these aspects of voices was undertaken with hearers in routine clinical treatment (N = 18).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found beliefs about voices' omnipotence and malevolence were stable over a 12-month period, as were styles of interrelating between voice and hearer, despite trends towards reductions in voice-related distress and disruption. However, there was a trend for beliefs about the benevolence of voices to decrease over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Styles of interrelating between voice and hearer appear relatively stable and enduring, as are beliefs about the voices' malevolent intent and power. Although there was some evidence that beliefs about benevolence may reduce over time, the reasons for this were not clear. Our exploratory study was limited by only being powered to detect large effect sizes. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
authors.forename: Nicky
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hartigan
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCarthy-Jones
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayward
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*