Emotions, Traits and Negative Beliefs as Possible Mediators in the Relationship between Childhood Experiences of being Bullied and Paranoid Thinking in a Non-Clinical Sample

Abstract

This paper describes a study investigating whether negative beliefs, traits or emotions mediate the relationship between an adverse early life experience, being a victim of bullying, and psychotic like phenomena, paranoid thinking, in a non-clinical population. A cross-sectional research design was utilised with 135 undergraduate students completing self-report questionnaires. The results revealed that negative beliefs about self and depression significantly mediated the relationship between indirect aggression and paranoid thinking, whereas negative beliefs about others mediated the relationship between direct verbal aggression and paranoid thinking. These findings suggest that negative beliefs and depression are the mediators of the relationship between bullying and paranoid thinking thus further contributing to the understanding of the association between adverse early life experiences and paranoid thinking.