Does generic metacognition explain incremental variance in O–C symptoms beyond responsibility and perfectionism?

Abstract

Responsibility and perfectionism have long been supported as central cognitive factors in O–C symptoms. Previous studies have reported that metacognition is involved in various psychiatric disorders as a common underlying process. The present study aimed to investigate whether generic metacognition would explain incremental variance in the severity of O–C symptoms above and beyond responsibility and perfectionism. Two hundred thirteen college students in Study 1 and fifty-one OCD patients in Study 2 completed self-report measures of responsibility, perfectionism, and generic metacognition. The O–C symptoms was measured by the Y-BOCS-SR in Study 1 and the Y-BOCS in Study 2. In Study 1 and Study 2, generic metacognition accounted for additional 16% and 22% of variance in the O–C symptoms, respectively, when responsibility and perfectionism were controlled. The “negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger of worry” dimension of generic metacognition emerged as a common significant predictor across the studies.