TITLE:
Perception of God and Paranoia among Iranian University Students
AUTHORS:
Shideh Fasahati, Seyed Mohammad Kalantarkousheh
KEYWORDS:
Paranoia, Paranoid Thoughts, Negative Thoughts, Perception of God, Iranian Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.8,
June
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: This
study examined the correlation between types of perception of God and paranoid
thoughts among 312 randomly sampled students—175 female and 137 male—in the
Azad Islamic University of Tehran in Iran. Two survey questionnaires were
administered to the participants through the University’s website—one assessing
their perception of God (Lawrence, 1997), and the other to assess the occurrence of paranoid thoughts among them (Derogatis, Lipman,
& Covi, 1973). Data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and regression
methods. The results show that only the negative perception of God correlates
with paranoia in both males and females, while the perception of God’s
blessings in one’s life correlates with paranoid thoughts only among male
students. Students with a positive perception of God experience less paranoia
than students with negative perception of God—a finding that may actually suggest
that positive spirituality/religiosity holds positive and therapeutic benefits
for the paranoid.