paranoid delusions
Conditions
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Aged 18 or over Receiving treatment from CTP Veldzicht or GGZ Noord Holland Noord. Seeking asylum in the Netherlands or, registered with Centraal Opvang Asielzoekers (COA), Classification (primary or subsidiary classification) of a disorder categorized within the *schizophreniaspectrum- and other psychotic disorders* (DSM-V) Diagnosed with the symptom of paranoid delusion, defined as a PANSS score on the delusion item (P6) >2
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Unable to provide informed consent Acutely psychotic, with which we mean overwhelmed by psychotic symptoms, agitated, not able to participate in an interview, as judged by a therapist or socio-therapist.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Phenomenological semi-structured interview based on a topic list. The interview measures the experience of participants in a qualitative matter. Audio recordings of the semi-structured interviews will be transcribed. These transcriptions containing rich qualitative data is the main study parameter. Questions focus on the experience in VR with an emphasis on thoughts and feelings about the environment and how these thoughts and feelings come about and influence their behaviour (e.g. What did you think of the behaviour of the people in the VR? Did you feel threatened?). The interviewer will be present during the VR experiment and will ask follow-up questions that require the patient to reflect on what he or she said and the way he or she behaved and why. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) (Kay et al., 1987): This is an interview-based rating scale designed to measure severity of psychopathology in adult patients with schizophrenia. Positive (7 items) and negative symptoms (7 items) will be assessed. - State Social Paranoia Scale (SSPS) (Freeman et al., 2007): Measures paranoid thinking about the avatars in the virtual environments with a 20-item questionnaire, with 10 items assessing persecutory thoughts and 10 items measuring positive and neutral thoughts on a 5-point-scale. - Safety Behaviours Questionnaire - Persecutory beliefs (SBQ) (Freeman, Garety, & Kuipers, 2001): Is a semi-structured interview with 7-items that assesses safety behaviours that patients use to reduce persecutory threat. - Visual Analogue Scale (VAS): A visual analogue scale is used to assess the patients* distress and perceived hostility of avatars. It consists of a straight line of 10 cm with descriptors at each end, "distress" at one end and "no distress" at the other end and "hostile" at one end and "not hostile" at the other end. A mark is placed to indicate their perception. - Behavioural assessment of video and audio recordings by psychiatrists working in the field of transcultural psychiatry. Two to three psychiatrists are asked to write down their observations and thoughts relating to the observations of the behaviour of patients. The observations are based on video-footage gathered during the VR-experiments. Initially the experts are given minimal guidance for their observations so not to influence their thought process. This will be followed-up with a semi-structured interview. Questions relate to the behaviours, intentions, and feelings of the patients (e.g. Can you describe possible thoughts or beliefs that occurred within the patient while he/she evaluated their environment?). For this inference, they are asked to rely on their clinical experience. | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed