The lonely road to paranoia. A path-analytic investigation of loneliness and paranoia

Abstract Loneliness and paranoia are related, but the mechanisms that link them to each other remain unclear. Systematic reviews on loneliness propose a social–cognitive model in which loneliness leads to negative evaluations of other persons and a lack of interpersonal trust. However, the data discussed in these reviews are based on healthy individuals. Building on this model, the present study investigated 1) whether negative interpersonal schemata mediate the association between loneliness and paranoia and 2) whether a low level of perceived social support and less frequent social contact are related to loneliness. Using a cross-sectional design, sixty-five participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited online and completed questionnaire-based measures of loneliness, paranoia, negative interpersonal schemata, perceived social support and frequency of social contact. Data were analyzed taking a path-analytic approach. The association between loneliness and paranoia was significantly and fully mediated by negative schemata of others. Moreover, a low level of perceived social support was significantly associated with loneliness, whereas self-reported frequency of social contact was not. The present results highlight the potential role of interpersonal negative schemata in the formation and maintenance of paranoia and elucidate the crucial role of loneliness in the way individuals construe themselves within a social environment.