title: Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: can Beliefs about Voices Mediate the Relationship Patients establish with them and Negative Affect?
abstract: This study was designed to find out whether a person's relationship with his voices and the negative affect he suffers from are mediated by beliefs about the voices. Research done to date shows contradictory results (Sorrell, Hayward, & Meddings, 2010, Vaughan & Fowler, 2004). A cross-sectional study was done to study the associations among variables, and a multiple mediation model (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) in which the beliefs about voices were the mediating variables was tested. Sixty subjects who heard voices participated. The VAY (Hayward, Denney, Vaughan, & Fowler, 2008), BAVQ (Chadwick & Birchwood, 1995), BAI (Beck & Steer, 1993) and BDI-II (Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996) were given. We found a significant positive correlation between perception of voices as dominant and intrusive and maintaining a position of distance from them on one hand, and negative affect [anxiety (r = .57, p < .001; r = .40, p < .001; r = .34, p < .01 respectively) and depression (r = .58, p < .001; r = .37, p < .01; r = .38, p < .001 respectively)] on the other. We also found that beliefs of malevolence and omnipotence mediated between relating style and negative affect (anxiety and depression). The theoretical implications of the results and clinical implications of the mediating relationships found are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Spain).
authors.forename: María de Gracia
authors.initials: Mde G
authors.lastname: León-Palacios
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Spain).
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Úbeda-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Spain).
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Escudero-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Spain).
authors.forename: María Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Barros-Albarán
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Sevilla (Spain).
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: López-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Hospital Virgen del Rocío (Spain).
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perona-Garcelán
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: auditory verbal hallucinations; beliefs; negative affect