title: Self-esteem and evaluative beliefs in paranoia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychological models have implicated negative self-esteem as an important factor underlying paranoia. However, research investigating the role of self-esteem in paranoia suffers from poor conceptual and methodological understanding, resulting in conflicting findings. Central to this problem is the use of measures investigating global self-esteem and self-evaluative beliefs interchangeably. In the present study we aimed to analyze differences in self-esteem domains and self-evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study used interviews and questionnaires to compare a clinical sample of participants who were currently paranoid (n = 55) with healthy controls (n = 57) on global self-esteem domains and negative evaluative beliefs, in order to investigate the multi-faceted role of "the self".
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference in self-esteem domains between groups, highlighting that self-esteem is preserved in currently paranoid individuals. However, the paranoid group had significantly more negative evaluative beliefs. Interestingly, our global measures of self-esteem and measures of negative evaluative beliefs were uncorrelated, highlighting the importance of understanding the differences underlying these concepts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study does not address dynamic aspects of self-esteem and self-evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study provides undeniable evidence to investigate self-concept dimensions separately. These findings must be considered by researchers interested in the role of the self in the onset and maintenance of paranoia.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: mcvalien@ucm.es.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valiente
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cantero
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Department. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario de La Princesa (IIS-IP), Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Provencio
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wickham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Negative evaluative beliefs; Paranoia; Self-acceptance; Self-concept