Although instable negative emotions and problems in emotion regulation (ER) are common in patients with psychosis and are discussed as potential factors involved in the formation and maintenance of paranoia, it is unclear whether they increase the risk of developing paranoia in nonclinical controls. The present study aims to investigate whether the instability of negative emotions leads to paranoia in healthy participants. It should be further analyzed if the application of maladaptive ER strategies enhances subclinical paranoid ideation and if the use of adaptive ER strategies reduces subclinical paranoid ideation.

Method:

Nonclinical controls (n = 83) repeatedly reported the presence and instability of negative emotions, paranoia, and the use of maladaptive (expressive suppression, rumination) and adaptive (reappraisal, acceptance) ER strategies in their daily life on six consecutive days using electronic mobile assessment.

Results:

Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that nonclinical controls reporting a pronounced instability of negative emotions showed more pronounced paranoia at a subsequent time point. Moreover, participants who used expressive suppression at a certain time experienced more severe paranoia at the subsequent time point.

Conclusion:

If these findings are confirmed in high-risk samples, ER processes could be considered as an additional factor in theoretical models of paranoia formation.

中文翻译：

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情绪不稳定和表达抑制与日常生活中的妄想症有关：一项针对非临床个体的电子移动评估研究

尽管不稳定的负面情绪和情绪调节（ER）问题在精神病患者中很常见，并且被讨论为与偏执狂的形成和维持有关的潜在因素，但尚不清楚它们是否会增加非临床对照中发生偏执狂的风险。本研究旨在调查负面情绪的不稳定性是否会导致健康参与者的妄想症。应进一步分析适应不良的ER策略是否能增强亚临床偏执观念，而适应性ER策略的使用是否能减少亚临床偏执观念。

方法：

非临床对照（n = 83）在连续六天的日常生活中使用电子移动设备反复报告了负面情绪，妄想症的存在和不稳定性，以及在日常生活中使用适应不良（表达抑制，沉思）和适应性（重新评估，接受）ER策略的情况评定。

结果：

分层线性回归分析显示，非临床对照者报告负面情绪明显不稳定，在随后的时间点表现出更明显的妄想症。此外，在特定时间使用表达抑制的参与者在随后的时间点出现更严重的妄想症。

结论：

如果在高风险样本中证实了这些发现，则ER过程可被视为妄想症形成的理论模型中的另一个因素。