Introduction: Persecutory delusions are a very common symptom in psychotic disorders and represent a considerable cost for both patients and for society. The way in which a person faces their psychotic disorder (i.e., recovery style) has impact on their recovery. The impact of coping style as a moderator in the course of their illness has not been studied sufficiently in persecutory delusions. In addition, internalised stigma is a common process in psychosis that not only might affect emotional distress, but might also shape recovery style. The goal of this study was to examine the moderator role of recovery style between internalised stigma and emotional distress in people with persecutory delusions.
Methods: All 50 people with persecutory beliefs were assessed by the Recovery Style Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition, and Internalised Stigma of Mental Illness.
Results: Moderation analysis showed that participants with a sealing-over recovery style had high levels of depression when they experienced internalised stigma and low levels of depression only when internalised stigma was low. However, participants with an integration recovery style presented similar levels of depression regardless of the level of their internalised stigma.
Conclusions: Findings suggest the moderator role of recovery style between internalised stigma and depression in people with persecutory delusions.
Keywords: Schizophrenia; internalised stigma; psychosis; recovery style.