Discipline of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Sunshine Coast Mind & Neuroscience - Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Behav Cogn Psychother. 2020 Jul;48(4):442-453. doi: 10.1017/S1352465820000144. Epub 2020 Mar 16.
Metacognition and perfectionism are factors found to be associated with both anxiety and depression. A common component that underlies these factors is the influence of perseverance, or the tendency to continue a behaviour or thought even if it is no longer productive.
This study aimed to investigate the relationships between metacognitive beliefs with maladaptive aspects of perfectionism (i.e. perseverance behaviours), and their relation to anxiety and depression.
Participants (n = 1033) completed six self-report questionnaires measuring metacognitive beliefs about rumination and worry, perseverance, anxiety and depression. Data were analysed using correlational testing, and structural equation modelling.
Results of structural equation modelling revealed that positive metacognitive beliefs about repetitive negative thinking increased the likelihood to perceive the thinking as uncontrollable, and that perseverance behaviours were predicted by all metacognitive beliefs. Furthermore, examination of partial correlations revealed that both negative metacognitive beliefs about repetitive negative thinking and perseverance behaviours predicted anxiety and depression; however, negative metacognitive beliefs were the strongest predictor, in both cases.
The results provided support for current metacognitive models, in that the interpretation of cognitive perseveration sequentially influences psychopathology, but also provided insight into the inclusion of perseveration behaviours. Furthermore, the findings may also have value in a clinical setting, as targeting metacognitive beliefs in the presence of perseverance type behaviours may prove beneficial for treatment.
元认知和完美主义被发现与焦虑和抑郁都有关。这些因素的一个共同基础是毅力的影响，即即使行为或思维不再有效，也继续下去的倾向。
本研究旨在探讨元认知信念与完美主义的适应不良方面（即坚持行为）之间的关系，以及它们与焦虑和抑郁的关系。
参与者（n=1033）完成了六个自我报告问卷，测量了对沉思和担忧的元认知信念、坚持、焦虑和抑郁。使用相关测试和结构方程模型对数据进行了分析。
结构方程模型的结果表明，对重复消极思维的积极元认知信念增加了将思维视为不可控的可能性，而所有的元认知信念都可以预测坚持行为。此外，部分相关分析显示，消极的元认知信念和坚持行为都可以预测焦虑和抑郁；然而，在这两种情况下，消极的元认知信念都是最强的预测因素。
研究结果为当前的元认知模型提供了支持，即对认知坚持的解释依次影响精神病理学，但也为坚持行为的纳入提供了深入的了解。此外，这些发现可能在临床环境中也具有价值，因为在存在坚持行为的情况下针对元认知信念可能对治疗有益。
