title: Using metacognitions to identify emotionally vulnerable college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between negative metacognitions and indices of mental health in order to help identify individuals at risk for future psychopathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomly selected sample of 378 undergraduates responded to the General Health Questionnaire and the Metacognitions Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A curvilinear relationship emerged between negative metacognitive beliefs and social dysfunction. Beliefs about uncontrollability and danger accounted for about 29% of the variance and beliefs about cognitive competence accounted for an additional 1%. Worry correlated with mental health scores in both sexes. Beliefs about uncontrollability and danger, beliefs about cognitive competence and general negative beliefs discriminated nonclinical subjects high in both anxiety and depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Modification of metacognitive beliefs can help prevent psychopathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Mohaghegh, Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. ub@uma.ac.ir
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Barahmand
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abolghasemi
authors.forename: Saleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jahanmohammadi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult