title: Anxiety control and metacognitive beliefs mediate the relationship between inflated responsibility and obsessive compulsive symptoms.
abstract: Research has indicated that beliefs about inflated responsibility, beliefs about perceived control over anxiety-related events and reactions (anxiety control) and metacognitive beliefs about the need to control thoughts are associated with obsessive compulsive symptoms. In the current study we tested a mediation model of the interactions between these variables in predicting obsessive compulsive symptoms. Thirty-seven individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder and 31 controls completed the following self-report instruments: the Responsibility Attitude Scale, the Anxiety Control Scale, the Beliefs about Need to Control Thoughts sub-scale of the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30, and the Padua Inventory. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that participants in the clinical group scored significantly higher than those in the non-clinical group on all variables. In the mediation model we found that the relationship between beliefs about inflated responsibility and obsessive compulsive symptoms was fully mediated by anxiety control and beliefs about the need to control thoughts. These findings provide support for the significant role played by beliefs about control in predicting the severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Studi Cognitivi, Foro Buonaparte 57, 20121 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sassaroli
authors.affiliation: Studi Cognitivi, Foro Buonaparte 57, 20121 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Centorame
authors.affiliation: Studi Cognitivi, Foro Buonaparte 57, 20121 Milano, Italy; School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK; Sigmund Freud University, Campus Prater Freudplatz 1 1020 Wien, Austria, and Ripa di Porta Ticinese 77, 20143 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caselli
authors.affiliation: Azienda Sanitaria di Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Favaretto
authors.affiliation: Studi Cognitivi, Foro Buonaparte 57, 20121 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: marcello.gallucci@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: diego.sarracino@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sarracino
authors.affiliation: Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Ricerca, Foro Buonaparte 57, 20121 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Giovanni M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, UK. Electronic address: grupporicerca@studicognitivi.net.
authors.forename: Marcantonio M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Spada
authors.affiliation: Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: Ron.Rapee@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ronald M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rapee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067489:Metacognition; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Anxiety control; Beliefs about inflated responsibility; Metacognitive beliefs; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive compulsive symptoms