Jumping to conclusions and the persistence of delusional beliefs in first episode psychosis.
Falcone MA., Murray RM., O'Connor JA., Hockey LN., Gardner-Sood P., Di Forti M., Freeman D., Jolley S.
BACKGROUND: Cognitive biases may contribute to delusion persistence. We tested this in a longitudinal study of first episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS: 34 FEP patients completed assessments of delusions and Jumping to Conclusions (JTC) at baseline and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: JTC was associated with baseline delusion severity (t(32)=2.7, p=0.01). Baseline delusions persisted at follow-up for 8/20 participants (40%), who all jumped to conclusions (8/8, 100%), compared to half of those with no or changeable delusions (14/26, 54%; χ(2) (df=1)=5.7, p=0.03; Phi=0.4). CONCLUSION: Findings implicate cognitive biases in delusion persistence, and support the potential to reduce delusions through reasoning-focused interventions.