ORIGINAL ARTICLE Preliminary study of effects on paranoia ideation and jumping to conclusions in the context of group treatment of anxiety disorders in young people Laura Giusti | Donatella Ussorio | Anna Salza | Maurizio Malavolta | Annalisa Aggio | Valeria Bianchini | Massimo Casacchia | Rita Roncone Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Early Interventions University Unit, Trattamenti Riabilitativi psicosociali, Interventi Precoci, TRIP, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Treatment, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy Corresponding Author: Rita Roncone, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Early Interventions University Unit, Trattamenti Riabilitativi psicosociali, Interventi Precoci, TRIP, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Treatment, University of L’Aquila, Building Delta 6, Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy (rita. roncone@cc.univaq.it). Background: People with anxiety disorders tend to focus on unpleasant and threatening sti- muli. Our aims were to evaluate: (1) the presence of paranoid ideation, and the jumping to con- clusions (JTC) bias in young suffering from an anxiety disorder and (2) the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural intervention (CBT) to manage anxiety combined with 2 modules to reduce the JTC bias. Methods: Psychopathology, social functioning, metacognition and the JTC bias were investi- gated in 60 subjects, randomly assigned to the experimental CBT group + treatment-as-usual (TAU) (n = 35) or to a wait-list group (n = 25) receiving only TAU. Each group was divided into 2 subgroups based on the score of the SCL-90 subscale paranoid ideation (high paranoid idea- tion, HP; low paranoid ideation, LP). The experimental group received a weekly session of a CBT for a 3-month period. Results: At baseline, 46.7% of our sample showed a HP and 38% showed a JTC biasAt the end of the intervention, greater effectiveness in improving anxious symptoms, paranoid ideation, interpersonal sensitivity and interpersonal relationship was reported in the experimental CBT + TAU group, with a statistically significant reduction of the JTC bias, displayed by 14.3% of the experimental group versus the 36% of the TAU group. In the same variables, greater benefits were reported for the HP experimental subgroup. Conclusions: Our study suggests the gains to integrate an anxiety CBT with modules to reduce the JTC bias in subjects with paranoid ideation, which may negatively impact the course of the disease. KEYWORDS anxiety disorders, early intervention, group psychotherapy, paranoid ideation 1 | INTRODUCTION Anxiety disorders are very common among young people, leading to a significant impairment of quality of life and occupational and inter- personal functioning (Beard, Weisberg, & Keller, 2010; Kessler, 2003; Kessler et al., 2005; Quilty, Van Ameringen, Mancini, Oakman, & Far- volden, 2003; Van Ameringen, Mancini, & Farvolden, 2003). Moreo- ver, these disorders may have a chronic course (Costello, Egger, & Angold, 2005). Several studies have confirmed that people with anxiety disor- ders tend to focus more on unpleasant and threatening stimuli, while they tend to ignore or minimize the importance of more pleasant sti- muli (attention bias) (Bar-Haim, Lamy, Pergamin, Bakermans-Kranen- burg, & van, 2007; Pergamin-Hight, Naim, Bakermans-Kranenburg, van, & Bar-Haim, 2015; Sylvester, Hudziak, Gaffrey, Barch, & Luby, 2015). Cognitive models of anxiety suggest that information- processing biases play a central role in the aetiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders (Beck & Clark, 1997; Eysenk, 1997; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). The translation of such models into applicable cognitive-behavioural intervention (CBT) protocols focuses primarily on training in relaxation techniques and on a gradual and systematic exposure to threat as a vehicle to promote fear extinction as well as Received: 25 April 2016 Revised: 22 September 2016 Accepted: 25 October 2016 DOI 10.1111/eip.12415 Early Intervention in Psychiatry 2017; 1–9 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imj © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 1