Metacognitive, Emotional, and Avoidance Predictors of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Sugiura Yoshinori

Psychology

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.

Worry

Negative Beliefs About Worrying

Fear of Emotions

Experiential Avoidance

Responsibility to Continue Thinking

eng

Scientific Research Publishing

© 2017 by author and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

[ISSN] 2152-7180

[ISSN] 2152-7199

[DOI] 10.4236/psych.2017.84041

[DOI] https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2017.84041