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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychopathology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1396485

Variations in positive well-being as a function of the interaction between paranormal belief and schizotypy

Provisionally accepted
Neil Dagnall Neil Dagnall 1*Kenneth G. Drinkwater Kenneth G. Drinkwater 1Andrew Denovan Andrew Denovan 1Alex Escolá Gascón Alex Escolá Gascón 2
  • 1 Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
  • 2 Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examined variations in positive well-being as a function of paranormal belief and schizotypy. A sample of 2362 United Kingdom-based respondents completed self-report measures assessing paranormal belief, schizotypy, positive well-being (meaning in life, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem), paranormal experience and belief in conspiracies.Paranormal belief was most strongly related to the cognitive-perceptual factor of schizotypy.Both, paranormal belief and the cognitive-perceptual factor were associated with reporting of paranormal experiences and endorsement of conspiracist beliefs. Despite commonality, paranormal belief and schizotypy were differentially related to well-being. Paranormal belief correlated positively with meaning in life (presence and search) and satisfaction with life. Schizotypy correlated negatively with presence, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem, and positively with search. Latent profile analysis identified four sub-groups: Profile 1, Low Belief and Schizotypy (49% of sample); Profile 2, Low Belief and Cognitive-Perceptual, Moderate Interpersonal and Disorganized, (13.6%); Profile 3, High Belief, Moderate Cognitive-Perceptual and Interpersonal, Low Disorganized (24.3%); and Profile 4, High Belief and Schizotypy (13.1%). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) found low belief with mixed schizotypy was associated with lower presence, and low belief and schizotypy (vs. high) was related to higher presence. Paranormal belief and schizotypy were attendant with greater search, higher scores on paranormal experiential factors, and endorsement of generic conspiracist beliefs. Finally, lower belief and schizotypy were concomitant with higher satisfaction with life and self-esteem. Overall, paranormal belief was related to positive wellbeing, whereas schizotypy was associated with lower positive well-being.

    Keywords: paranormal belief; schizotypy, Well-being, Paranormal experience, belief in conspiracies, latent profile analysis

    Received: 05 Mar 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dagnall, Drinkwater, Denovan and Escolá Gascón. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Neil Dagnall, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.