title: The lonely road to paranoia. A path-analytic investigation of loneliness and paranoia.
abstract: Loneliness and paranoia are related, but the mechanisms that link them to each other remain unclear. Systematic reviews on loneliness propose a social-cognitive model in which loneliness leads to negative evaluations of other persons and a lack of interpersonal trust. However, the data discussed in these reviews are based on healthy individuals. Building on this model, the present study investigated 1) whether negative interpersonal schemata mediate the association between loneliness and paranoia and 2) whether a low level of perceived social support and less frequent social contact are related to loneliness. Using a cross-sectional design, sixty-five participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited online and completed questionnaire-based measures of loneliness, paranoia, negative interpersonal schemata, perceived social support and frequency of social contact. Data were analyzed taking a path-analytic approach. The association between loneliness and paranoia was significantly and fully mediated by negative schemata of others. Moreover, a low level of perceived social support was significantly associated with loneliness, whereas self-reported frequency of social contact was not. The present results highlight the potential role of interpersonal negative schemata in the formation and maintenance of paranoia and elucidate the crucial role of loneliness in the way individuals construe themselves within a social environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, 35032 Marburg, Germany; University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, Center for Acute Psychiatric Disorders, Lenggstr. 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lamster
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, University Hamburg, von-Melle-Park 5, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Tania M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lincoln
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, 35032 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Clara M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nittel
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, 35032 Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rief
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Health, Frankfurt University of Applied Science, Nibelungenplatz 1, 60143 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Str. 8, 35039 Marburg, Germany. Electronic address: stephanie.mehl@uni-marburg.de.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D057566:Self Report; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult