Researcher: Witold Orlik Paranoid ideation in a nonclinical sample: Investigating the role of loneliness and the mediating effects of Theory of Mind and Personal Belief in a Just World. Researcher: Witold Orlik

Project background, paranoid ideation Hostile and persecutory thoughts Associated with serious mental disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, but also experienced to some extent by 15% to 20 % of general population. Range between normal paranoid thinking and psychosis, and clinical paranoia results from overgeneralization of an ordinary, functional thought process. Links between paranoid ideation and loneliness

Project background, loneliness Emotionally unpleasant state Characterized by self-perceived, inadequate or insufficient social connections  Approximately 80% of the general population under 18 years of age, and 40% of those who are 65 years of age or more experience loneliness at least occasionally

Project background, the mediators Theory of Mind – ability to “read” others’ feelings, intentions and predict their actions Personal Belief in a Just World – perception of the world, rather fair or rather dangerous

Rationale and aim of the study Paranoid ideation, loneliness, Theory of Mind and Personal Belief in a Just World researched extensively but never incorporated into one cohesive model Explore mechanisms underlying loneliness-based paranoid ideation (direct and indirect effects)

Methods Survey design Mediation analysis applied to investigate the data Statistical tool, superior to ordinary regression analysis as path analysis goes beyond the approximation of direct effects. Path analysis allows to examine the causal processes underlying the associations and to evaluate the importance of alternative paths of influence

Results Males scored significantly higher on Theory of Mind than females (past research support) Paranoid ideation – loneliness the highest zero-order correlation Mediation, direct effects: statistically significant with and without the mediators Mediation, indirect effects: loneliness to the mediators – significant, from the mediators to paranoid ideation – nonsignificant results

Discussion Relatively high levels of paranoid ideation and low levels of loneliness - supported in past research, (Murphy & Shevlin, 2012) Links between paranoid ideation and loneliness – support in past research Loneliness predicting ToM and PBiJW Nonsignificant effects between ToM, PBiJW and paranoid ideation, possible reasons: low ecological validity of ToM, model applied in nonclinical setting, loneliness encapsulates some characteristics related to ToM and PBiJW

Limitations Majority of the sample - young students Limited demographic background Bidirectional character of paranoid ideation – loneliness association (temporal order relevant to mediation)

Conclusion and implications Reapply the model within clinical context Loneliness important in terms of increased levels of ToM and PBiJW Lonely males more susceptible to increased levels of ToM