title: Negative metacognitive beliefs moderate the influence of perceived stress and anxiety in long-term anxiety.
abstract: Metacognitive theory of emotional disorders (Matthews and Wells, 1994; Wells, 2009) suggests that metacognitive beliefs can play a causal role in the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms. In this prospective study, we examine the relationships between metacognitive beliefs, perceived stress and anxiety in a non-clinical sample. Participants were 135 undergraduate students who completed a battery of questionnaire at two time points (3- months apart). Results revealed metacognitive beliefs do not predict long-term anxiety independently. However, moderation analyses demonstrated negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger prospectively moderated the relationship between perceived stress and Time 2 anxiety. Negative metacognitive beliefs also interacted with baseline anxiety to predict the change in anxiety symptoms. The results confirm metacognitions play a causal role in anxiety and have implications for cognitive models and the treatment of anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Personality, Evaluation, and Psychological Treatment II (Differential Psychology). School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: juanramoscejudo@psi.ucm.es.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramos-Cejudo
authors.affiliation: Personality, Evaluation, and Psychological Treatment. School of Psychology, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: J Martín
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Salguero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067489:Metacognition; D010465:Perception; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: A prospective study; Anxiety; Metacognitive beliefs; Metacognitive model; Perceived stress