Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, UK.
Centre for Biostatistics, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, UK.
Psychol Psychother. 2018 Jun;91(2):169-185. doi: 10.1111/papt.12154. Epub 2017 Oct 5.
It is increasingly accepted that paranoia lies on a continuum of severity that can be observed in the general population. Several psychological factors have been implicated in the development of more distressing persecutory ideas including negative affect (i.e., anxiety and depression), beliefs about oneself and other people (i.e., schemas), and metacognitive beliefs. This study aimed to explore the combined role of cognition and metacognition in paranoia. Specifically, unhelpful metacognitive beliefs and schematic beliefs were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between non-clinical paranoid ideation and negative affect.
Measures from 227 people who took part in a cross-sectional online survey were analysed using structural equation modelling. A series of models grounded in cognitive and metacognitive theory were tested sequentially.
The results demonstrated that unhelpful metacognitive beliefs had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between paranoia and negative affect. Negative beliefs about oneself and other people did not moderate negative affect but positive beliefs about other people had a negative moderating effect. In a final model, negative schematic beliefs predicted paranoid ideation whilst metacognitive beliefs predicted and moderated affect.
The findings suggest that consideration of metacognitive beliefs, as well as schemas, may be important in understanding non-clinical paranoia.
Metacognitive beliefs may be an important determinant of negative affect in the context of non-clinical paranoia. The consideration of both cognitive and metacognitive factors may be helpful when working with people with distressing paranoid ideas.
越来越多的人认为偏执狂存在于严重程度的连续体中，可以在普通人群中观察到。一些心理因素与更令人痛苦的迫害观念的发展有关，包括负性情绪（即焦虑和抑郁）、对自己和他人的信念（即图式）以及元认知信念。本研究旨在探讨认知和元认知在偏执狂中的综合作用。具体来说，测试了无益的元认知信念和图式信念是否是正常人群中偏执观念与负性情绪之间关系的潜在调节因素。
对 227 名参加横断面在线调查的参与者的测量结果进行了分析，采用结构方程模型进行分析。一系列基于认知和元认知理论的模型被依次测试。
结果表明，无益的元认知信念对偏执与负性情绪之间的关系具有积极的调节作用。对自己和他人的消极信念不会调节负性情绪，但对他人的积极信念具有负向调节作用。在最终模型中，消极的图式信念预测了偏执观念，而元认知信念预测并调节了情绪。
这些发现表明，考虑元认知信念以及图式可能对于理解非临床偏执狂很重要。在处理有痛苦的偏执观念的人群时，考虑认知和元认知因素可能很重要。
元认知信念可能是非临床偏执狂背景下负性情绪的一个重要决定因素。在处理有痛苦的偏执观念的人群时，考虑认知和元认知因素可能很重要。
