The Design and Validation of a Suspicion Treatment Package Based on Islamic Sources

Extended Abstract
 
Introduction and Objectives: Suspicion of others is considered a moral vice and an undesirable trait, and there are various Quranic verses, narratives, and Hadiths about it. In psychology, the term paranoia is also considered equivalent to suspicion, which can be an indicator of a psychological disorder called “paranoid personality disorder” or it can exist as a personality trait. Suspicion or paranoia is a pattern of thinking that includes severe and irrational distrust and suspicion. Given the prevalence of the disorder and the symptom of suspicion, its treatment has received serious attention, and many drug and psychotherapy approaches have been used for it; however, there is no definitive cure for it. What was intended in this research is suspicion as the core of this disorder, as well as mistrust in ethics, which is very similar to the same pattern of pessimism and mistrust in paranoid personality disorder or the trait of paranoia. In psychology and Islamic ethics, suspicion has been introduced as a moral vice and an undesirable trait, and there are various Quranic verses, narratives, and Hadiths about it. Considering the influence of culture on the treatment of mental disorders, as well as the rich literature on mistrust in Islamic ethics, the aim of this study was to first investigate the dimensions of suspicion and its related factors in Islamic texts, then design a treatment package, and finally validate the treatment plan by experts.
Method: This applied study was categorized into scientific-religious research. The research design was also of a descriptive-analytical type. The population and textual field were Quranic verses and authentic narratives using Nour software and in the form of a review of related books and judgmental sampling. First, the signs, causes, and solutions related to suspicion in Islamic sources were extracted based on the conventional qualitative content analysis method and the approach of Sieh and Shannon (2005). To validate the findings, all texts were carefully studied and the content of the texts and their alignment with the subject of the present research were discussed and exchanged with two professors specializing in religion and Islamic psychology to ensure the relevance of the selected texts to the present subject. Coding was done by a psychologist and educational sciences specialist and a religious text analysis specialist who is proficient in qualitative methods. The correlation coefficient of the extracted codes between the two specialists was 0.89. According to the findings, after the initial draft of the therapy sessions and their content was prepared, the draft was provided to twelve professors specializing in the field of psychology with an Islamic approach and with more than five years of experience to respond to a questionnaire related to the evaluation of the sessions and their content. The sampling method in this section was judgmental and snowball. The targeted specialists responded to the relevant questionnaire, then the collected responses were analyzed and quantified in the form of two indicators: the relative coefficient of content validity and the content validity index.
Results: After reviewing the texts and conducting analyses and coding, first 378 open codes were obtained; then, through the classifications and research stages, four main categories, fourteen subcategories, and 63 sub-subcategories were finally obtained. The main categories included descriptions of suspicion, causes of suspicion, consequences of suspicion, and strategies, each of which consisted of several subcategories. Then, based on the open, main, and subcategories, a treatment protocol was designed in eleven sessions. Of course, the details and implementation of the sessions can be implemented in more sessions according to the audience. The titles of the sessions were as follows: First session, description of the disease of suspicion; second session, etiology of suspicion; third session, internal etiology of suspicion; fourth session, description of interpersonal consequences; fifth session, description of behavioral consequences; sixth session, description of internal consequences; seventh session, description of afterlife and spiritual consequences; eighth session, cognitive strategies; ninth session, spiritual-attitudinal strategies; tenth session, self-development, and eleventh session, behavioral strategies. The content of each session was also determined based on the findings in the first part of the study. Two factors, the relative content validity coefficient and the content validity index, were used to validate the data. The results of this research showed that the agreement of the evaluators for the sessions was acceptable, and no session was excluded. The minimum acceptable value for content validity was 0.79, which was obtained for the valid sessions at 0.98; also, the minimum relative content validity coefficient was 0.62, which was obtained for the sessions at 0.87. Accordingly, all sessions had the necessary validity from the point of view of the evaluators and experts.
Conclusion: The description of suspicion included four subcategories: permanent illness, no relief, change in the heart towards others, and surrender to suspicion (change in actions, speech). In a narrative from Imam Ali, it is stated that a suspicious person is always sick, and suspicion ruins things and provokes evil. Regarding its causes, Imam Ali has also said: Companionship with evil people leads to suspicion of good people, companionship with good people joins evil people with good people, and companionship of bad people with good people joins bad people with good people. According to the verses and narratives, self-improvement and self-purification, fighting against vices such as pride, jealousy, and eliminating fear in a person as the root of suspicion are necessary and essential for treating suspicion.
In general, in Islamic verses and narratives, suspicion is introduced as a moral vice and a disease from which it is difficult to get rid of, and many causes and factors have been stated for it; the consequences and effects of suspicion in various personal, social, spiritual and otherworldly areas are also discussed, and many strategies have been expressed for getting rid of it. The sum of these interpretations and studies has been effective in recognizing and treating suspicion as a vice, disease and psychological disorder, which was presented and validated in the form of a treatment protocol in eleven sessions. This treatment plan can be a guide for clinical specialists and moral scholars in treating this disease or vice.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank all the professors and individuals who collaborated in validating this research.
Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interest among the authors.