[Study of paranoid ideation in college students: an approach using the diathesis-stress model]

A recent study reported that normal people who have social anxiety and attention to social and interpersonal cues show paranoid ideation (Martin & Penn, 2001). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether people with these diatheses show paranoid ideation in the diathesis-stress framework. Questionnaires were administered to 177 college students three times. At Time I, social anxiety and attention to social and interpersonal cues were assessed. These variables were used in Martin and Penn (2001) as the diathesis factor of paranoid ideation. At Time 2, paranoid ideation during the period, and at Time 3, paranoid ideation and stress events between Time 2 and Time 3 were assessed. Setwise hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to predict the change in the incidence of paranoid ideation from Time 2 to Time 3. Result revealed significant interaction effects between social anxiety and stress. Students with high score on the social anxiety scale showed an increase in paranoid ideation when they experienced more stress events.