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Interpersonal Processes and Attachment in Voice-Hearers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

George Robson  and
Oliver Mason
George Robson
Affiliation:
Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Oliver Mason*
Affiliation:
University College London, UK
*
Reprint requests to Oliver Mason, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail: o.mason@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background: Studies of both clinical and non-clinical voice hearers suggest that distress is rather inconsistently associated with the perceived relationship between voice and hearer. It is also not clear if their beliefs about voices are relevant. Aims: This study investigated the links between attachment anxiety/avoidance, interpersonal aspects of the voice relationship, and distress whilst considering the impact of beliefs about voices and paranoia. Method: Forty-four voice-hearing participants completed a number of self-report measures tapping attachment, interpersonal processes in the voice relationship, beliefs about voices, paranoia, distress and depression. Results: Attachment avoidance was related to voice intrusiveness, hearer distance and distress. Attachment anxiety was related to voice intrusiveness, hearer dependence and distress. A series of simple mediation analyses were conducted that suggest that the relationship between attachment and voice related distress may be mediated by interpersonal dynamics in the voice-hearer relationship, beliefs about voices and paranoia. Conclusions: Beliefs about voices, the hearer's relationship with their voices, and the distress voices sometimes engender appear to be meaningfully related to their attachment style. This may be important to consider in therapeutic work.

Keywords

Voice-hearinginterpersonal beliefsparanoia
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 43 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 655 - 668
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2014 

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