title: An experimental investigation into the role of ruminative and mindful self-focus in non-clinical paranoia.
abstract: Ruminative self-focus is a maladaptive form of emotional processing and is linked to distress, whereas mindful self-focus is adaptive and linked to low distress. However, the effects of these different modes of self-focus have not yet been examined in symptoms associated with psychotic disorders, such as paranoid ideation. This study aimed to explore whether inducing ruminative self-focus maintains paranoid ideation whilst inducing mindful self-focus reduces paranoid ideation.
  
  
  
  Thirty-two non-clinical participants engaged in a paranoia induction prime and then took part in an eight-minute ruminative self-focus induction and an eight-minute mindful self-focus induction.
  
  
  
  Following an induction of paranoia, mindful self-focus significantly decreased levels of paranoia, whereas ruminative self-focus had no significant impact on levels of paranoia, and therefore was interpreted as having maintained paranoia.
  
  
  
  The study used non clinical participants and the level of paranoid ideation experienced was fairly mild, which limits generalisation to clinical levels of distress. Additionally, the mechanism by which rumination and mindful self-focus have their effects was not examined.
  
  
  
  The results add to the growing body of evidence that there are two distinct modes of self-focus that have differential effects on emotional processing. These findings also demonstrate the potential benefit of interventions targeting rumination in paranoid ideation with mindful self-focus.
authors: School of Psychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
authors: Ashley
authors: A
authors: McKie
authors: The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
authors: Kristina
authors: K
authors: Askew
authors: School of Psychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, UK. Electronic address: rob.dudley@ncl.ac.uk.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Dudley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D064232:Visual Analog Scale; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Mindfulness; Paranoia; Persecutory delusions; Rumination