%0 Journal Article
%T Immersive virtual reality as a novel approach to investigate the association between adverse events and adolescent paranoid ideation.
%A Gayer-Anderson C
%A Knowles G
%A Beards S
%A Turner A
%A Stanyon D
%A Davis S
%A Blakey R
%A Lowis K
%A Dorn L
%A Ofori A
%A Rus-Calafell M
%A Morgan C
%A Valmaggia L
%J Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Jun 28
%M 38942902
%F 4.519
%R 10.1007/s00127-024-02701-6
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>Paranoid ideation is common among adolescents, yet little is known about the precursors. Using a novel immersive virtual reality (VR) paradigm, we tested whether experiences of bullying, and other interpersonal/threatening events, are associated with paranoid ideation to a greater degree than other types of (i) non-interpersonal events or (ii) adverse childhood experiences.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Self-reported exposure to adverse life events and bullying was collected on 481 adolescents, aged 11-15. We used mixed effects (multilevel) linear regression to estimate the magnitude of associations between risk factors and paranoid ideation, assessed by means of adolescents' reactions to ambiguously behaving avatars in a VR school canteen, adjusting for putative confounders (gender, year group, ethnicity, free school meal status, place of birth, family mental health problems).<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Lifetime exposure to interpersonal/threatening events, but not non-interpersonal events or adverse circumstances, was associated with higher levels of state paranoid ideation, with further evidence that the effect was cumulative (1 type: ϐadj 0.07, 95% CI -0.01-0.14; 2 types: ϐadj 0.14, 95% CI 0.05-0.24; 3 + types: ϐadj 0.24, 95% CI 0.12-0.36). More tentatively, for girls, but not boys, recent bullying was associated with heightened paranoid ideation with effect estimates ranging from ϐadj 0.06 (95% CI -0.02-0.15) for physical bullying to ϐadj 0.21 (95% CI 0.10-0.32) for cyber bullying.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Our data suggest a degree of specificity for adversities involving interpersonal threat or hostility, i.e. those that involve unwanted interference and/or attempted control of an individual's personal boundaries being associated with heightened levels of state paranoid ideation among adolescents.