Persecutory ideation and insomnia Findings from the second British National Survey Of Psychiatric Morbidity
Open accessAbstract
It is clinically and theoretically plausible that insomnia contributes to the development and maintenance of paranoid fears. The primary aim of the study was to establish in a large sample whether insomnia and paranoia are associated more strongly than by chance. Cross-sectional data on paranoia, insomnia, anxiety, worry, depression, irritability, and cannabis use were obtained from the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity, a general population survey of adults aged 16-74 years living in Great Britain (N = 8580). It was found that insomnia was associated with an approximately two to threefold increase in paranoid thinking. Paranoia and insomnia were both strongly associated with the presence of anxiety, worry, depression, irritability and cannabis use. In a path analysis the association of paranoia and insomnia was partially explained by the affective symptoms, and, to a much lesser degree, cannabis use. The results are consistent with recent developments in the cognitive understanding of persecutory delusions, in which insomnia, negative affect, and substance use are identified as key factors. Longitudinal studies of insomnia and paranoia, and tests of the effects of sleep interventions on levels of paranoia, are now required to examine causality.
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Chronic insomnia is linked to a 5 times increased likelihood of endorsing the statement 'a group of people are plotting to cause you serious harm or injury'.
“with chronic insomnia linked to a 5 times increased likelihood of endorsing the statement ‘a group of people are plotting to cause you serious harm or injury’ (Freeman, Brugha, et al., 2010).”
From The role of sleep dysfunction in the occurrence of delusions and hallucinations: A systematic review (2015) · cites this paper as Freeman, Brugha, et al., 2010
Insomnia was associated with an increase in the frequency of paranoid thoughts in the British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity.
“The British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity [22] provided further evidence of an association between insomnia and paranoia, finding that insomnia was associated with an increase in the frequency of paranoid thoughts [8].”
From A structural equation model of the relationship between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking (2017) · cites this paper as [8]
Both Freeman et al. studies found a weaker relationship between insomnia and paranoia when levels of depression and anxiety were taken into account.
“Interestingly, both Freeman et al. studies [8, 9] found a weaker relationship between insomnia and paranoia when levels of depression and anxiety were taken into account, suggesting that the relationship may be explained, in part, by increases in negative affect.”
From A structural equation model of the relationship between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking (2017) · cites this paper as [8]
Previous research has tended to use relatively limited measures of paranoia, for example only two items from the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire.
“Second, previous research has tended to use relatively limited measures of paranoia. For example, studies have used only two items from the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire to capture the experience of paranoia [8, 10].”
From A structural equation model of the relationship between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking (2017) · cites this paper as [8]
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References 48 · Cited by 99
Research works printed but not linked: 5
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- Rutten B.P.F. van Os J. Dominguez M. Krabbendam L. Epidemiology and social factors: findings from The Netherlands mental health survey and incidence and incidence study (NEMESIS) Freeman D. Bentall R. Garety P. Persecutory delusions 2008 OxfordUniversity Press Oxford 53 71
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- Authors
- Freeman, D., Brugha, T., Meltzer, H., Jenkins, R., Stahl, D., & Bebbington, P.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Freeman, Daniel
- Venue
- Journal of Psychiatric Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-11
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 1021-1026
- ISSN
- 0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2977847
- OpenAlex
- W2011458393
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 6.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust Fellowship
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
- Keywords
- persecutory ideation, paranoia, insomnia, sleep disorders, anxiety, worry, depression, irritability, cannabis use, negative affect, persecutory delusions
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Delusions, Female, United Kingdom, Health Surveys, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Middle Aged, Paranoid Disorders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, Odds Ratio, Community Health Planning, Young Adult
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