Title:
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Exploration of self-structure in individuals experiencing paranoid delusions
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Within a symptom framework (e. g. Bentall, 1990), the present research investigated the
self-structure of individuals who were actively experiencing paranoid and persecutory
delusions. The structural qualities of self-schemata were determined in two
experimental groups (15 acutely unwell paranoid patients and 29 non-clinical controls)
using a multiple free-sorting task. Participants were asked to endorse pre-selected self-attributes
and position their chosen elements into social roles or identities. Linville's
unitary index was calculated using Attneave's H algorithm. Separate positive and
negative self-complexity indices were also computed following Woolfolk's model, as
were levels of differentiation and integration (Rafaeli-Mor et al., 1999).
Paranoid individuals displayed reduced unitary and positive self-complexity. Their
responses on the negative index mirrored those of controls. The clinical group exhibited
less differentiation within endorsed attributes, no overlap of self-descriptive elements
and reduced identified social roles. Psychological well-being was inversely related to
negative self-complexity and directly associated with positive self-structure. Against
predictions, greater self-complexity did not buffer the effects of stress life-events on
psychological functioning, with unitary complexity exacerbating levels of anxiety and
low self-esteem. A strong inverse trend was observed between negative self-structure
and length of present admission. Schizotypy was consistently associated with increased
negative self-complexity, indicating a possible vulnerability marker for high-risk
populations.
Clinical implications include the use of interpersonal therapeutic processes to develop
self-reflection skills, the importance of early interventions to prevent the fragmentation
and simplification of the self and its internal working models of being, and the potential
predictive use of structure to indicate schizotypy. Limitations of the research include a
small sample size and under power, lack of appropriate control groups, poor
definitional criteria of self-structure and the omission of multi-dimensional
phenomenological measures of delusional pathology.
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