This study examined persecutory ideation, a paranoid-like tendency. A scale was constructed to assess the tendency to have the ideation in normal young adult population. Eighty-five (85) undergraduates and 176 professional school students (70 men, 190 women, and 1 unknown) completed a questionnaire of Persecutory Ideation, other-consciousness, and self-consciousness scales. Factor analysis found two factors for PI scale: self-reference and suspiciousness. Regression analysis showed that suspiciousness was related to private self-consciousness, while self-reference was related to other-consciousness and public self-consciousness. These results indicated that persecutory ideation had two rather distinct components, and suggested that self-reference could be an expression of concern about others.
Key words:self-reference, paranoia, suspicion, delusions