Cognitive fusion mediates the impact of attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety
Cognitive fusion mediates the impact of attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety
Background: paranoia, in both clinical and non-clinical groups, is characterised by unfounded interpersonal threat beliefs. Secure attachment imagery attenuates paranoia, but little is known about the mechanisms of change. Cognitive fusion describes the extent to which we can ‘step back’ from compelling beliefs, to observe these as mental events, and is implicated in psychopathology cross-diagnostically.
Aims: this study extends previous research demonstrating the impact of attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety to determine whether cognitive fusion mediates these relationships. Method: We utilised a randomized experimental design and recruited an analogue sample with high levels of non-clinical paranoia to test the impact of imagery and the role of cognitive fusion.
Results: secure attachment imagery resulted in reduced paranoia and anxiety compared to threat/insecure imagery. Cognitive fusion mediated the relationships between imagery and paranoia, and imagery and anxiety.
Conclusions: secure attachment imagery is effective in reducing paranoia and anxiety and operates via cognitive fusion. In clinical practice, these interventions should seek to facilitate the ability to ‘step back’ from compelling threat beliefs, in order to be most beneficial.
paranoia, anxiety, attachment, imagery, cognitive fusion
1150-1161
Sood, Monica
185fb97e-a111-45e1-bbe8-d865d301ef9f
Newman-Taylor, Katherine
e090b9da-6ede-45d5-8a56-2e86c2dafef7
1 December 2020
Sood, Monica
185fb97e-a111-45e1-bbe8-d865d301ef9f
Newman-Taylor, Katherine
e090b9da-6ede-45d5-8a56-2e86c2dafef7
Sood, Monica and Newman-Taylor, Katherine
(2020)
Cognitive fusion mediates the impact of attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 44 (6), .
(doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10127-y).
Abstract
Background: paranoia, in both clinical and non-clinical groups, is characterised by unfounded interpersonal threat beliefs. Secure attachment imagery attenuates paranoia, but little is known about the mechanisms of change. Cognitive fusion describes the extent to which we can ‘step back’ from compelling beliefs, to observe these as mental events, and is implicated in psychopathology cross-diagnostically.
Aims: this study extends previous research demonstrating the impact of attachment imagery on paranoia and anxiety to determine whether cognitive fusion mediates these relationships. Method: We utilised a randomized experimental design and recruited an analogue sample with high levels of non-clinical paranoia to test the impact of imagery and the role of cognitive fusion.
Results: secure attachment imagery resulted in reduced paranoia and anxiety compared to threat/insecure imagery. Cognitive fusion mediated the relationships between imagery and paranoia, and imagery and anxiety.
Conclusions: secure attachment imagery is effective in reducing paranoia and anxiety and operates via cognitive fusion. In clinical practice, these interventions should seek to facilitate the ability to ‘step back’ from compelling threat beliefs, in order to be most beneficial.
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Cognitive Fusion Mediates the Impact of Attachment Imagery on Paranoia and Anxiety
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Accepted/In Press date: 24 June 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 July 2020
Published date: 1 December 2020
Keywords:
paranoia, anxiety, attachment, imagery, cognitive fusion
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 442016
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/442016
ISSN: 0147-5916
PURE UUID: 7436f8a2-1955-4655-82b5-10a4cada713e
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Date deposited: 03 Jul 2020 16:38
Last modified: 19 Apr 2024 17:27
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Author:
Monica Sood
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