Running Head : Interpersonal beliefs in persecutory delusions

3 The purpose of the current study was to examine the way individuals with persecutory 4 delusions construe the self, others and their main persecutor with reference to the constructs 5 of malevolence and omnipotence, and examine the extent to which these interpersonal beliefs 6 link to distress, self-esteem and delusion conviction. Repertory grid methodology was used 7 to explore interpersonal beliefs about malevolence and omnipotence in a sample (N=30) of 8 individuals with current persecutory delusions (mean age 36.4 years; 62% male and 53% of 9 white ethnicity). Participants also completed measures of emotional distress (depression and 10 anxiety) and self-esteem. The findings suggested that persecutors were construed as more 11 omnipotent and malevolent than both the self and others; others in turn were construed as 12 more omnipotent and malevolent than the self. Beliefs about self as powerful were 13 associated with lower anxiety, depression and higher self-esteem, and beliefs about 14 persecutors’ omnipotence predicted delusion conviction. As with voices, the concepts of 15 power/omnipotence and malevolence/benevolence appear to be important constructs when 16 seeking to understand the relationship between individuals and their perceived persecutors. 17 These findings support working therapeutically with negative schematic beliefs about self, 18 others and persecutors, which is consistent with a person-based cognitive therapy model of 19 distressing psychosis. 20