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Metacognitive beliefs as a predictor of health anxiety in a self‐reporting Italian clinical sample
Author(s) -
Melli Gabriele,
Bailey Robin,
Carraresi Claudia,
Poli Andrea
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
clinical psychology and psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0879
pISSN - 1063-3995
DOI - 10.1002/cpp.2159
Subject(s) - anxiety , dysfunctional family , psychology , clinical psychology , anxiety sensitivity , metacognition , association (psychology) , depression (economics) , multilevel model , psychiatry , cognition , psychotherapist , machine learning , computer science , economics , macroeconomics
Research has supported the specific role that anxiety sensitivity, health‐related dysfunctional beliefs, and metacognitive beliefs may play in the development and maintenance of health anxiety symptoms. However, the role of metacognitive beliefs in health anxiety has only been explored in analogue samples. The aim of this study was to explore for the first time the association between metacognitive beliefs and health anxiety symptoms in a sample of participants who reported having received a diagnosis of severe health anxiety (hypochondriasis) or illness anxiety disorder and test whether these beliefs are significant predictors of health anxiety after controlling for anxiety, depression, anxiety sensitivity, and dysfunctional beliefs. A series of dimensional self‐report measures were administered to a large Italian sample ( N = 458). At a bivariate level, Beliefs that Thoughts are Uncontrollable had a stronger association with health anxiety than any of the dysfunctional beliefs and anxiety sensitivity subscales. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that Beliefs that Thoughts are Uncontrollable predicted health anxiety symptoms over‐and‐above depression, general anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and health‐related dysfunctional beliefs. Despite many important limitations, this study supported the hypothesis that metacognition may have an important role in health anxiety in clinical samples.