Approbation of the Short Version Questionnaire Metacognitive Belief in Russian-Speaking Population
Abstract
In the meta-cognitive theory by A. Wells, anxiety disorders and depression are caused by the presence of dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs. In this concept there are five key metacognitive factors that lead to development of affective disorders: Positive beliefs about worry; Negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger of anxiety; Control of thoughts; Attention to one's own thought processes; Cognitive mistrust. The intensification of metacognitive beliefs leads to the development and maintenance of stereotyped thinking styles, such as worry and rumination, as well as constant threat monitoring and attempts to suppress unwanted thoughts. A short version of the metacognitive belief questionnaire allows one to measure individual differences in the choice of dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs. This article is dedicated to the development and validation of the short version of the questionnaire of metacognitive beliefs in the Russian-speaking population. The study involved 500 people: 200 students studying at the A.I. Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, 100 respondents were examined using Internet technologies (electronic Google forms), also 200 women with oncological diseases of the reproductive system were assessed. The results showed that the short version of the questionnaire of metacognitive beliefs fully corresponds to the English version with respect to reliability-consistency and internal structure of the items, and is also characterized by high test-retest reliability. External validity of the technique is confirmed by significant correspondence of dysfunctional metacognitive factors with the severity of anxiety-depressive experiences and the choice of maladaptive strategies for cognitive regulation of emotions. Regression analysis revealed that such metacognitive factors as negative beliefs related to uncontrollability and danger of anxiety, attentiveness to one's own thinking processes, and positive beliefs about anxiety contribute independently to the development of anxiety. It is shown that such metacognitive factors as negative beliefs related to uncontrollability and danger of anxiety, cognitive insolvency, and attentiveness to one's own thought processes contribute to the development of depressive experiences.
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References
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