Beliefs About Selves, Others and Persecutors (BASOP)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Beliefs About Selves, Others and Persecutors (BASOP): A Mixed-Methods Comparison Of Self-Discrepancies In Patients With Persecutory Delusions And Healthy Controls.
IRAS ID
363853
Contact name
Richard Bentall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Sheffield
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
197253, Project code (sponsor REC)
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 29 days
Research summary
The beliefs we hold about what our ‘self’ is like are constituted by ideas about what we are ‘really’ like, what we believe we ‘should’ be like, and how we would be ‘ideally’. What we believe other people think about us also influences our self-perception. It has been suggested that discrepancies between these domains of self-perception can negatively affect our emotions and mental well-being.
People experiencing persecutory delusions believe that they are being threatened or harmed by others (or will be), and that this harm is intentional. Persecutory delusions are thought to lie at one end of the paranoia continuum, which also includes suspicion and mistrust in the general population. Previous research has shown that people experiencing persecutory delusions often believe that other people view them negatively. In particular, a previous study found high discrepancies between the (positive) self-beliefs patients held and their belief that their parents viewed them negatively. No previous research has explored what patients believe their persecutors think about them.
This study aims to compare how people experiencing persecutory delusions view themselves with how they believe their main caregiver(s) and their main persecutor(s) view them. These responses will be compared with those of people who have no experience of persecutory delusions.
The study will be conducted at the Tower Hamlets Early Intervention Service (THEIS) within the East London Foundation Trust. Participants will be aged 18+ years old and currently experiencing persecutory delusions. Eligible control participants will be aged 18+ years old with no psychiatric history.
Participants will be invited to attend a study day at THEIS or remotely. Participants will be screened by the researcher, and if eligible, they will be asked to sign a consent form. Eligible participants will take part in an audio-recorded, semi-structured interview and complete several questionnaire measures.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/SC/0161
Date of REC Opinion
19 May 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion