TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do bad things happen to me? Attributional style, depressed mood, and persecutory delusions in patients with schizophrenia
AU - Mehl, Stephanie
AU - Landsberg, Martin W.
AU - Schmidt, Anna Christine
AU - Cabanis, Maurice
AU - Bechdolf, Andreas
AU - Herrlich, Jutta
AU - Loos-Jankowiak, Stephanie
AU - Kircher, Tilo
AU - Kiszkenow, Stephanie
AU - Klingberg, Stefan
AU - Kommescher, Mareike
AU - Moritz, Steffen
AU - Muller, Bernhard W.
AU - Sartory, Gudrun
AU - Wiedemann, Georg
AU - Wittorf, Andreas
AU - Wölwer, Wolfgang
AU - Wagner, Michael
PY - 2014/11/1
Y1 - 2014/11/1
N2 - Theoretical models postulate an important role of attributional style (AS) in the formation and maintenance of persecutory delusions and other positive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, current research has gathered conflicting findings. In a cross-sectional design, patients with persistent positive symptoms of schizophrenia (n = 258) and healthy controls (n = 51) completed a revised version of the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ-R) and assessments of psychopathology. In comparison to controls, neither patients with schizophrenia in general nor patients with persecutory delusions (n = 142) in particular presented an externalizing and personalizing AS. Rather, both groups showed a "self-blaming" AS and attributed negative events more toward themselves. Persecutory delusions were independently predicted by a personalizing bias for negative events (beta = 0.197, P =. 001) and by depression (beta = 0.152, P =. 013), but only 5% of the variance in persecutory delusions could be explained. Cluster analysis of IPSAQ-R scores identified a "personalizing" (n = 70) and a "self-blaming" subgroup (n = 188), with the former showing slightly more pronounced persecutory delusions (P =. 021). Results indicate that patients with schizophrenia and patients with persecutory delusions both mostly blamed themselves for negative events. Nevertheless, still a subgroup of patients could be identified who presented a more pronounced personalizing bias and more severe persecutory delusions. Thus, AS in patients with schizophrenia might be less stable but more determined by individual and situational characteristics that need further elucidation.
AB - Theoretical models postulate an important role of attributional style (AS) in the formation and maintenance of persecutory delusions and other positive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, current research has gathered conflicting findings. In a cross-sectional design, patients with persistent positive symptoms of schizophrenia (n = 258) and healthy controls (n = 51) completed a revised version of the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ-R) and assessments of psychopathology. In comparison to controls, neither patients with schizophrenia in general nor patients with persecutory delusions (n = 142) in particular presented an externalizing and personalizing AS. Rather, both groups showed a "self-blaming" AS and attributed negative events more toward themselves. Persecutory delusions were independently predicted by a personalizing bias for negative events (beta = 0.197, P =. 001) and by depression (beta = 0.152, P =. 013), but only 5% of the variance in persecutory delusions could be explained. Cluster analysis of IPSAQ-R scores identified a "personalizing" (n = 70) and a "self-blaming" subgroup (n = 188), with the former showing slightly more pronounced persecutory delusions (P =. 021). Results indicate that patients with schizophrenia and patients with persecutory delusions both mostly blamed themselves for negative events. Nevertheless, still a subgroup of patients could be identified who presented a more pronounced personalizing bias and more severe persecutory delusions. Thus, AS in patients with schizophrenia might be less stable but more determined by individual and situational characteristics that need further elucidation.
KW - attributional style
KW - depression
KW - negative emotions
KW - persecutory delusions
KW - positive symptoms
KW - schizophrenia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904856281&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/schbul/sbu040
DO - 10.1093/schbul/sbu040
M3 - Article
C2 - 24743864
AN - SCOPUS:84904856281
SN - 0586-7614
VL - 40
SP - 1338
EP - 1346
JO - Schizophrenia Bulletin
JF - Schizophrenia Bulletin
IS - 6
ER -