The simple and multiple relations of cognitive characteristics and worry in patients with generalized anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders

The aim of the present study was to investigate the simple and multiple relations of metacognitive beliefs, intolerance of uncertainty, perfectionistic cognitions, and cognitive avoidance in relation to worry in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Sixty six patients (52 females, 14 males) with GAD and 74 patients (51 females, 23 males) with OCD were selected by purposive sampling in Yazd and Tehran. All participants completed the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the Metacognitive Beliefs Questionnaire (MCBQ), the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (PCI), and the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ). The results indicated a positive correlation between predictor variables and worry in both groups. The most powerful predictors of worry in patients with GAD and OCD were metacognitive beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty, respectively. The findings suggested that although worry is a shared cognitive component in both GAD and OCD, the determinants of it are different in these two disorders.