Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Paranoid Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources

The validity of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence measure in a sample of schizophrenic patients living in the community.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To examine the construct and predictive validity of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence (SOC) concept in a sample of schizophrenic persons living in the community. BACKGROUND: The salutogenic model of Antonovsky proposes that the individual's sense of coherence, which is a personal orientation towards life, determines the health experience. The salutogenic perspective might in several advantageous aspects contribute to the care and support for patients with a long and persistent mental illness like schizophrenia. DESIGN: The study is a 18-month follow-up study. Structured interviews were used to interview 120 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder. Pearlin's mastery scale, Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, the Interview Schedule for Social Interactions (ISSI) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were used as construct validity measures of the SOC scale. Health related measures such as quality of life, global well-being, satisfaction with health assessed by the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQOLP) and global psychosocial functioning (GAF) were used in calculations of the predictive validity of SOC. RESULTS: The SOC was positively related to mastery, self-esteem and social support but negatively associated to psychopathology. In total, mastery, self-esteem and adequacy of social integration explained 61.1% of the variance in SOC, and mastery contributed with the greatest part of the variance, 46.3% SOC was positively associated to all health related measures and changes in SOC during an 18-month follow-up was positively correlated to changes in overall subjective quality of life, general health, global well-being and global psychosocial functioning. CONCLUSION: The results gave support to the construct and predictive validity of the SOC measure in individuals suffering from a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

The use of imagery in cognitive therapy for psychosis: a case example.

There has been a long tradition of studying imagery in relation to psychotic symptoms. Recent studies have suggested that imagery may be involved in the development and maintenance of psychotic symptoms (hallucinations and delusions in particular). Following a review of this literature, including work conducted by the author and colleagues, a case study is used to illustrate the clinical applications of this work. Working with images that were associated with persecutory delusions appeared to contribute to a reduction in distress, preoccupation, and conviction in relation to these beliefs, which were assessed using a standardised measure (PSYRATS). The implications for theory, practice, and future research are considered.

Adult↗

Phenomenology and clinical correlates of delusions in Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine whether anosognosia, depression, and elevated mood are associated with delusions in Alzheimer disease (AD), and to examine the validity of standardized diagnostic criteria for psychosis of dementia. METHOD: The authors assessed a consecutive series of 771 patients with AD attending a dementia clinic with a comprehensive neuropsychologic and psychiatric evaluation that included specific measures of delusions, hallucinations, anosognosia, depression, and elevated mood. RESULTS: Delusions were found in one-third of the patients and hallucinations in 7%. Most patients with hallucinations also had delusions. A principal component analysis of the Psychosis Dementia Scale, which rates the presence and severity of delusions, produced the factors of paranoid misidentification and expansive delusions. Paranoid, but not expansive, delusions increased across the stages of the illness. Anosognosia and depression were significantly and independently associated with the presence of delusions, whereas elevated mood was significantly associated with expansive, but not paranoid, delusions. A multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that delusions in AD were significantly associated with depression, anosognosia, overt aggression, and agitation. CONCLUSIONS: Anosognosia, depression, global cognitive deficits, and elevated mood are the main psychiatric correlates of paranoid misidentification and expansive delusions in AD, whereas overt aggression and agitation are the most frequent behavioral concomitants of psychosis in AD.

Aged↗

Somatic sexual hallucinations and erotomanic delusions in a mentally handicapped woman.

A case of erotic delusion and concurrent somatic sexual hallucination is described in a 66-year-old mentally handicapped woman. The history, mental state and biological investigations convey the impression of erotomania, or de Clerambault's syndrome. Treatment with Pimozide has resulted in a remarkable improvement such that the patient has been symptom free for 8 months at the time of reporting. In the authors' opinion, the case lends support to the argument that erotomania exists as a mono-delusional disorder and is equivalent to the DSM-III-R classification of Paranoid Disorder, Erotomanic Type.

Aged↗

Shared obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Shared psychotic disorder (folie à deux) is an uncommon entity reported mainly in the context of delusions. Obsessions and compulsions occur very rarely as shared psychopathology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present two sisters who manifested shared obsessive-compulsive disorder. RESULTS: Both sisters were managed in keeping with their shared obsessive-compulsive disorder leading onto a similar pattern of response. CONCLUSIONS: Shared obsessions could represent the continuum concept of obsessions and delusions, and their relationship needs to be evaluated in greater detail.

Adult↗

Linguistic dimensions of affect and thought in somatization disorder.

DSM-III has established diagnostic criteria that separate somatization disorder from other overlapping symptom configurations. Nevertheless, information regarding the experience of somatization disorder is far from complete. Terms such as "masked depression" or "alexithymia" imply that a disturbance of affect is a central but guarded issue for at least some somatizing patients. Through content analysis of speech, the authors investigated the self-experience of somatization disorder in relation to affective disorder. Rather than defended depression, a distinctive characteristic found in the language of patients with somatization disorder reflects a confused, negative self-identity.

Adult↗

Psychiatric and legal aspects of persistent litigation.

There is a paucity of literature in English about those people who persistently complain. In Germany and in Scandinavia, a diagnosis of querulent paranoia may be made, although this interesting and uncommon syndrome is rarely recognised in the UK. Five cases of litigiousness or persistent complaining are reported, to illustrate the typical psychopathology and the types of diagnosis that occur. Four of these people are barred from further litigation by the courts (vexatious litigants) and were contacted directly for the purpose of this study.

Adult↗

Effectiveness of cognitive therapy for delusions in routine clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that cognitive therapy is effective in modifying delusions. AIMS: To assess the effectiveness of cognitive therapy on patients seen in routine clinical work. METHOD: Eighteen patients with chronic delusions were treated using cognitive therapy, after the method of Chadwick and Lowe. A single-case multiple-baseline experimental design was used, including a control treatment. Each subject was used as their own control. RESULTS: Six patients reduced conviction in their delusions during cognitive therapy and not during the control treatment. Seven patients' conviction ratings did not change. Five patients showed a variable response. Degree of conviction did not fall to zero in any patient. All patients reported that the therapy had been helpful; six spontaneously mentioned changes in psychotic thinking. CONCLUSIONS: One-third of patients with chronic delusions whom we treated responded to delusion modification with a reduction in degree of belief. Change within therapy sessions predicted outcome, as did variation in the conviction during baseline. Cognitive therapy with delusions should aim at reducing distress as well as conviction.

Case-Control Studies↗

Aversive cigarette smoking with an habitual, excessive smoker.

A 39-yr.-old patient was exposed to aversive cigarette smoking consisting of rapid smoking, handling of cigarette litter, and warm smoky air for 6 wk. He reduced from a baseline of 140 cigarettes per day to less than 20 at end of treatment. Follow-ups at 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 mo. indicated a smoking rate of approximately 25% of baseline.

Adult↗

De Clérambault's Syndrome (Erotomania) and claims of psychiatric malpractice.

De Clérambault's Syndrome or Erotomania was originally described as a delusional disorder in which a woman believes that an older man of higher social status is passionately in love with her. The patient's relentless pursuit of the delusional love object, often with escalating intrusiveness, may eventually involve threats or overt acts of retaliation, in response to repeated rejection, unrequited love, or alleged betrayal. Cases from the literature are reviewed in which the delusional romantic attachment involves the patient's psychiatrist or another medical specialist. The authors present a case involving a patient suffering from erotomania who develops a delusional fixation on her psychiatrist and, after her advances are repeatedly rejected, sues him for malpractice, alleging she had a sexual relationship with him in the course of treatment. The implications of the litigious paranoid, who uses the legal system to act out delusional concerns and retaliatory fantasies, are discussed. This is the first known case of an erotomanic patient claiming malpractice on the grounds that her psychiatrist had a sexual relationship with her.

Delusions↗