TITLE:
Metacognitive, Emotional, and Avoidance Predictors of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
AUTHORS:
Yoshinori Sugiura
KEYWORDS:
Worry, Negative Beliefs About Worrying, Fear of Emotions, Experiential Avoidance, Responsibility to Continue Thinking
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.8 No.4,
March
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: Predictors of worrying and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were compared. First, variables related to a version of inner experience were examined. Specifically, we examined whether negative appraisals about worrying and emotions can be considered subfacets of the overarching construct of experiential avoidance. Second, we examined the relative predictive power of responsibility to continue thinking (i.e., beliefs about the need for prolonged thinking about stressful problems), a construct relating worrying to problem-solving. In two studies, consistent predictors of worrying and GAD were negative metacognitive beliefs, fear of emotions, and responsibility to continue thinking, even after controlling for neuroticism in Study 2. Experiential avoidance did not explain the independent variance in worry. The structural equation model that experiential avoidance explained negative appraisals about worrying and emotions did not fit the data well. Negative metacognitive beliefs evidenced strong predictive power, therefore, requiring particular attention in treatment. Nonetheless, fear of emotions and perceived need for perseverative thinking are candidate additional components that deserve continued investigation.