Psychosis and disorders like schizophrenia are inextricably related to loneliness. Therefore, as a preliminary investigation, one study examined the relationship between loneliness and paranoia in a sample of healthy participants (Lamster et al., 2017). This article will briefly summarize that study.
Methods
This study examined 60 healthy individuals who had never been diagnosed with a mental disorder. These participants first completed questionnaires assessing the following:
- socio-demographic data
- state paranoia (according to the Paranoia Checklist, or PCL)
- proneness to psychosis (according to the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, or CAPE)
- a manipulation check for loneliness
The participants were then randomly assigned into three groups: a control group (CG), a low loneliness group (LL), and a high loneliness group (HL).
Next, the study manipulated the levels of loneliness in the participants. The researchers did this by having the participants fill out a version of the University of California LA loneliness scale. Participants in the HL group received items such as “I sometimes feel isolated from others”, while participants in the LL group received items such as “I always feel isolated from others”. Then, participants were given “manipulative feedback” on their responses that told participants in the HL group that they showed extraordinarily high loneliness, those in the LL group that they showed low loneliness, and those in the control group that they showed normal loneliness levels.
Finally, once the participants had been given false feedback about their levels of loneliness, the participants filled out the state paranoia checklist (PCL) again and also underwent another manipulation check for loneliness.
Results
The following results were obtained:
- The groups showed no relevant differences at baseline.
- The loneliness manipulation succeeded, as the HL group showed increased loneliness while the LL group showed decreased loneliness.
- More importantly, the HL group showed significantly increased state paranoia while the LL group showed significantly decreased state paranoia.
- Interestingly, state paranoia also decreased significantly in the control group, though by less than it did in the LL group.
- Proneness to psychosis significantly moderated the change in loneliness caused by the change in paranoia.
Altogether, the results showed that manipulating someone’s loneliness also manipulated their paranoia in the same direction.
Wrapping up
The authors note that this is only a preliminary study, considering it was examining healthy individuals. The authors suggest that future research should examine a “high risk sample” for increased relevance. However, it is still notable that such a simple and quick loneliness manipulation could in turn affect state paranoia.
References
Lamster, F., Nittel, C., Rief, W., Mehl, S., Lincoln, T. (2017). The Impact of Loneliness on Paranoia: An Experimental Approach. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 54(1), 51-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.06.005.
