Metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability relate most strongly to health anxiety among US-based non-Latinx White primary care patients: Comparing strength of relations with US-based non-Latinx Black and Latinx primary care patients.

Abstract

Metacognitive beliefs have emerged as important to health anxiety, particularly beliefs that health-related thoughts are uncontrollable. Preliminary research examining generalized worry indicates uncontrollability beliefs relate more strongly to anxiety among US-based self-identifying White relative to Black college students. The present study sought to extend that line of research by examining if metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability of health-related thoughts differentially relate to health anxiety among self-identifying non-Latinx Black (n = 123), Latinx (n = 104) and non-Latinx White (n = 80) US-based primary care patients. As predicted, although positive associations were seen across all three groups, beliefs that health-related thoughts are uncontrollable more strongly related to health anxiety among White patients compared to both Black and Latinx patients. Those differential relations held in multivariate analyses while statistically controlling for positive depression screening status, generalized anxiety symptom severity and medical morbidity. Although the effect size surrounding the differential relations was small in magnitude, the present results further support the notion that metacognitive beliefs about uncontrollability relate less strongly to anxiety among US-based ethnoracial minorities compared to White individuals. Potential reasons for the differential relations are discussed, along with additional areas for future research.