Page No 68-78
Nikita Paliwal and Masroor Jahan
Ranchi Institue of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS), Ranchi
This study, conducted at a tertiary psychiatric hospital, examined the cognitive,
behavioral, and phenomenological aspects of delusions, including persecutory,
grandiose, nihilistic, and procreative delusions. Nine participants diagnosed with
Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Symptoms,
and Cannabis-Induced Psychotic Disorder were selected using convenience-purposive
sampling. Data were collected through the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Mini-Mental
State Examination-2, and semi-structured interviews. Informed consent was obtained
from participants in remission or partial remission and from caregivers of those with
active delusions. Interviews explored eight domains: worry, mood, cognition, self,
interpersonal sensitivity, anomalous experiences, life satisfaction and distressful life
events, and attribution or locus of control. Analysis using Giorgi’s Descriptive
Phenomenological method revealed key themes. Persecutory delusions, commonly
seen in paranoid schizophrenia, were associated with poor self-concept and heightened
emotional arousal. Individuals with grandiose delusions showed cognitive, behavioral,
and perceptual deficits, with worry and sadness preceding onset, and were not disorder–
—-specific. Delusion of procreation, seen primarily in schizophrenia, involved cognitive
and behavioral deficits, auditory hallucinations, strained family relationships, restrictive
parenting, and negative perceptions of others and the world. The findings highlight the
importance of understanding delusional phenomenology to improve diagnosis and
therapeutic management