SA2. Association Between Childhood Trauma and Subclinical Paranoid Beliefs: Do Insecure Attachment Styles Play a Unique Mediating Role?

Abstract

Background: Insecure attachment styles have received empirical support as mediating mechanisms in the association between childhood interpersonal adversities and paranoid beliefs. However, to our knowledge, previous studies have not examined whether insecure attachment styles have a unique mediating effect when considered concurrently with other key cognitive and affective vulnerabilities. In the present study, negative self and other schemas, anxiety symptoms, and insecure attachment styles (dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful) were simultaneously examined as potential mediators of the association between childhood trauma and paranoid beliefs. Methods: Participants were 546 nonclinical young adults who completed measures of childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), suspiciousness (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire), anxiety (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised), negative self and other schemas (Brief Core Schema Scales), and insecure attachment styles (Relationship Questionnaire). Results: Physical/emotional childhood trauma was significantly associated with paranoid beliefs. A parallel multiple mediation analysis tested the specific indirect effects of physical/emotional childhood trauma on paranoid beliefs via the affective, cognitive, and attachment variables. The results indicated that the specific indirect effect via fearful attachment was significant as were the specific indirect effects via anxiety symptoms and negative other schemas. Conclusion: The present study showed that fearful attachment remains a relevant mechanism linking physical/emotional trauma with paranoid beliefs even if negative schemas and anxiety are taken into account. Although further work is needed to examine these mechanisms longitudinally, the results should be useful for informing integrative etiological models of paranoia and may assist in the development of prophylactic interventions.