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The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire in Patients with Persecutory Delusions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2015

Emma Černis ,
Graham Dunn ,
Helen Startup ,
David Kingdon ,
Gail Wingham ,
Nicole Evans ,
Rachel Lister ,
Katherine Pugh ,
Jacinta Cordwell  and
Helen Mander
...Show all authors
Emma Černis*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Graham Dunn
Affiliation:
Manchester University, UK
Helen Startup
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, and Sussex Partnership, NHS Foundation Trust, Hove, UK
David Kingdon
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, UK
Gail Wingham
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, UK
Nicole Evans
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Rachel Lister
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
Katherine Pugh
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, and Sussex Partnership, NHS Foundation Trust, Hove, UK
Jacinta Cordwell
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, UK
Helen Mander
Affiliation:
University of Southampton, UK
Daniel Freeman
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, UK
*
Reprint requests to Emma Černis, Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training, The Isis Education Centre, Roosevelt Drive, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK. E-mail: emma.cernis@hmc.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background: Ruminative negative thinking has typically been considered as a factor maintaining common emotional disorders and has recently been shown to maintain persecutory delusions in psychosis. The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) (Ehring et al., 2011) is a transdiagnostic measure of ruminative negative thinking that shows promise as a “content-free” measure of ruminative negative thinking. Aims: The PTQ has not previously been studied in a psychosis patient group. In this study we report for the first time on the psychometric properties of Ehring et al.'s PTQ in such a group. Method: The PTQ was completed by 142 patients with current persecutory delusions and 273 non-clinical participants. Participants also completed measures of worry and paranoia. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the clinical group's PTQ responses to assess the factor structure of the measure. Differences between groups were used to assess criterion reliability. Results: A three lower-order factor structure of the PTQ (core characteristics of ruminative negative thinking, perceived unproductiveness, and capturing mental capacity) was replicated in the clinical sample. Patients with persecutory delusions were shown to experience significantly higher levels of ruminative negative thinking on the PTQ than the general population sample. The PTQ demonstrated high internal reliability. Conclusions: This study did not include test-retest data, and did not compare the PTQ against a measure of depressive rumination but, nevertheless, lends support for the validity of the PTQ as a measure of negative ruminative thinking in patients with psychosis.

Keywords

RuminationpsychosisschizophreniaparanoiaPerseverative Thinking Questionnairepersecutory delusions
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , July 2016 , pp. 472 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2015 

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