Are Metacognitive Factors Common in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Dysthymia?

Metacognitions are vulnerability factors in predicting development of psychological disorders especially Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and dysthymia, which are highly comorbid. Many studies have shown that GAD and dysthymia may have similar underlying metacognitive factors but the results are equivocal. The aim of present research was to test this hypothesis by using new instruments for measuring multiple metacognitive factors. Fifty-eight students referred to university counseling centers in Tehran who met the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV-TR for dysthymia (n=21), GAD (n=18), and comorbidity of them (n=19) were selected. The participants completed Meta Cognitions Questionnaire (MCQ), Anxious Thoughts Inventory (AnTI), Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Results of one-way analysis of variance demonstrated no significant differences between groups on metacognitive factors. It seems that GAD and dysthymia are associated in common underlying metacognitive factors. This study confirms the results of some previous research indicating similarities between the two disorders.