Objective: This study tested the hypothesis which holds that metacognitions are a general vulnerability factor for psychological disorders. It was predicted that patients with schizophrenia and patient with anxiety disorder would score higher than non-patients on measures of metacognition.
Method: This research is an analytical study and was carried out using a cross sectional method. The two groups of patients participating in this study were selected from among patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals, and who were diagnosed with schizophrenia (n=32) and anxiety disorder (26 with social phobia, 28 with obsessive compulsive disorder), by psychiatrists and psychologists according to DSM-IV- TR criteria. To increase the validity of diagnoses, clinical interviews were carried out for the patients based on DSM-IV criteria. Then both the patient and non-patient (n=30) groups were evaluated using the metacognition questionnaire.
Results: The results showed that patients with schizophrenia exhibit higher levels of dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs than the other groups. The group of patients with anxiety disorder scored lower than the patients with schizophrenia and higher than the non-patient group. Also, the non-patient group exhibited healthier and more functional metacognitive beliefs than the patient groups.
Conclusion: Metacognitive beliefs are general vulnerability factors for psychological disorders in general and psychoses in particular.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Special Received: 2008/02/22 | Accepted: 2008/04/20 | Published: 2008/06/21