The Relationship between Negative Problem Orientation and Worry: A Meta-Analytic Review

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can have a significant detrimental effect on the lives of sufferers. Research into the psychological process involved in worry has an important role in the prevention and treatment of problems such as GAD. Negative problem orientation (NPO) has been identified as an important psychological construct involved in worry (Gosselin, Ladouceur & Pelletier, 2005). The focus of this meta-analytic review was to further our understanding of the relationship between NPO and worry, and a related construct called intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The review identified 31 articles reporting correlations between measures of NPO and worry. These articles detailed a total of 33 independent effect sizes. Using a random-effects model and raw and attenuation-corrected values, NPO was found to be significantly correlated to worry (r = 0.57, CI = 0.55–0.60, k = 33, N = 5376). The type of NPO measure moderated the relationship between NPO and worry. In addition, NPO was found to be significantly correlated with IU (r= 0.71, CI = 0.69–0.73, k = 14, N = 3072) and more strongly correlated with IU than with worry (p<.05). The findings have implications for theory, research and practice. Issues in the measurement of NPO are discussed, and the relationship between NPO and IU is considered.