Metacognitive Beliefs and Metacognitive Capacity: Do They Assess Related Phenomena?

Metacognition has been defined several ways across different fields. In schizophrenia, two primary approaches to assessing metacognition focus on measuring metacognitive beliefs and metacognitive capacity. The degree of association between these two approaches is unclear. In this pilot study, schizophrenia (n = 39) and control (n = 46) groups were assessed using metacognitive beliefs (Metacognition Questionnaire-30) and metacognitive capacity (Metacognition Assessment Scale-Abbreviated) scales. We also examined how these two approaches predicted quality of life. Results showed anticipated differences for metacognitive beliefs, metacognitive capacity, and quality of life when comparing schizophrenia and healthy control groups. However, metacognitive beliefs and metacognitive capacity were not significantly related and only predicted quality of life in the healthy control group. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that these two approaches have a limited relationship with one another. Future studies should test these findings in larger samples and focus on examining associations at different levels of metacognitive functioning in those with schizophrenia.