Information in the environment is frequently ambiguous in meaning. Emotional ambiguity, such as the stare of a stranger, or the scream of a child, encompasses possible good or bad emotional consequences. Those with elevated vulnerability to affective disorders tend to interpret such material more negatively than those without, a phenomenon known as "negative interpretation bias." In this study ...

A hostile-dominant interpersonal style and paranoia increase the risk of aggression in psychiatric inpatients. Paranoia is also associated with hostile-dominance; however, the nature of this relationship is unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between hostile-dominance and paranoia over a oneyear period. One hundred and twenty-two patients admitted to hospital for psychiatric treatmen...

Introduction The Internet provides a means of reaching and providing information to a wide population. The authors have noted the availability of substances of abuse packaged conveniently as products for other purposes such as ‘plant foods’, ‘incense’ and ‘bath salts’ which are consumed by abusers for the “highs” they provide.1 Novel synthetic designer drugs that act as stimulants such as gamma...

It is clinically and theoretically plausible that insomnia contributes to the development and maintenance of paranoid fears. The primary aim of the study was to establish in a large sample whether insomnia and paranoia are associated more strongly than by chance. Cross-sectional data on paranoia, insomnia, anxiety, worry, depression, irritability, and cannabis use were obtained from the second ...

A converging body of clinical and empirical reports indicates that autism features elevated rates of paranoia comparable to those of individuals with paranoid schizophrenia. However, the distinct developmental courses and symptom manifestations of these two disorders suggest that the nature of paranoid ideation may differ between them in important and meaningful ways. To evaluate this hypothesi...

Identity has become a much-used word. The term captures the dilemma of self, for it describes and seems to explain the contradictions of living in a society that appears to be in constant change. Similarly, 'postmodernism', 'postmodernity', and 'postmodern' have become widely-used terms in public life as well as in the social sciences. In this context, indentity-construction and maintenance in ...