Unique Contributions of Metacognition and Cognition to Depressive Symptoms
JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY, vol.142, no.1, pp.23-33, 2015 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 142 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2015
- Doi Number: 10.1080/00221309.2014.964658
- Journal Name: JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
- Page Numbers: pp.23-33
- Keywords: cognition, depression, depressive symptoms, dysfunctional attitudes, metacognition, schema, BECK ANXIETY INVENTORY, PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES, RUMINATION, THERAPY, SCALE
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This study attempts to examine the unique contributions of cognitions or metacognitions to depressive symptoms while controlling for their intercorrelations and comorbid anxiety. Two-hundred-and-fifty-one university students participated in the study. Two complementary hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed, in which symptoms of depression were regressed on the dysfunctional attitudes (DAS-24 subscales) and metacognition scales (Negative Beliefs about Rumination Scale [NBRS] and Positive Beliefs about Rumination Scale [PBRS]). Results showed that both NBRS and PBRS individually explained a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms above and beyond dysfunctional schemata while controlling for anxiety. Although dysfunctional attitudes as a set significantly predicted depressive symptoms after anxiety and metacognitions were controlled for, they were weaker than metacognitive variables and none of the DAS-24 subscales contributed individually. Metacognitive beliefs about ruminations appeared to contribute more to depressive symptoms than dysfunctional beliefs in the cognitive domain.