Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Efficacy and the Development of Virtual Environments

AbstractBackground:Dysfunctions in metacognition have been reported in individuals with anxiety disorders. Although recent studies have examined metacognition in other disorders, how dysfunctional metacognition compares across disorders is not clear. This review aimed to ascertain the importance of dysfunctional metacognition in various psychopathologies, and to identify similarities and differences in metacognitive profiles across disorders.Methods:Forty-seven studies were selected from 586 articles published between 1990 and August 2015, including a total sample of 3772 patients and 3376 healthy individuals. Studies that measured metacognition using the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (MCQ) and its variants were included. We conducted five meta-analyses including 49 to 55 effect sizes, comparing psychiatric patients to healthy individuals on respective metacognitive dimensions of the MCQ.Results:We found elevated metacognitive dysfunctions in patients, as a group, on all MCQ dimensions. Group effects were large and robust for the two negative beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of thoughts, and beliefs about the need to control thoughts), and moderate and unstable for the positive beliefs. Patients showed decreased cognitive confidence and heightened cognitive self-consciousness on moderate to large levels. Moderator analyses revealed that negative beliefs about uncontrollability and danger of thoughts were most prevalent in generalized anxiety disorder, whereas heightened cognitive self-consciousness was more characteristic in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders manifested more similar metacognitive profiles than other disorders.Conclusions:Our findings supported dysfunctional metacognition as common processes across psychopathologies, with certain dimensions being more prevalent in particular disorders.

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Major Depressive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry ◽

10.4088/pcc.v10n0405 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 10 (04) ◽

pp. 299-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Arvind Kendurkar ◽

Brinder Kaur

Keyword(s):

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

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Transdiagnostic Processes in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Worry, Cognitive Avoidance, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Metacognitive Beliefs

Practice in Clinical Psychology ◽

10.32598/jpcp.7.4.281 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 281-290

Author(s):

Mohammad Ali Besharat ◽

Mohammad Atari ◽

Roghyeh Sadat Mirjalili

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Cognitive Avoidance ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Metacognitive Beliefs

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Is repetitive negative thinking a transdiagnostic process? A comparison of key processes of RNT in depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and community controls

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.02.006 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 45-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Karina Wahl ◽

Thomas Ehring ◽

Hanna Kley ◽

Roselind Lieb ◽

Andrea Meyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Community Controls

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Magical Thinking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1017/s1352465810000883 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 399-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Bonnie West ◽

Paul Willner

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Clinical Group ◽

Magical Thinking ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Mean

Background: Magical thinking (MT), which has historically been associated with psychotic disorders, has more recently been found to be a central cognitive construct in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that is associated with a poor prognosis (Einstein and Menzies, 2008). Although MT has been found to distinguish OCD from Panic Disorder (PD) (Einstein and Menzies, 2006), little is known about its role in other anxiety disorders. Aims: This study aimed to compare whether elevated levels of magical thinking could distinguish individuals with OCD from non-anxious controls and individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Method: The Magical Ideation Scale (MIS, Eckblad and Chapman, 1983) was used to compare levels of magical thinking in groups of individuals with OCD (n = 40), GAD (n = 15), and a normal control group (n = 19). Results: As expected, the mean MIS score of the OCD group was significantly higher than that of the non-clinical group. Interestingly, there was no significant difference between the mean MIS scores of the OCD and GAD group. However, the results of correlational analyses suggest that it may have differing roles in these disorders. Conclusions: Although elevated MT is evident in individuals with OCD, it may not be specific to OCD and may also be prominent in GAD. Further research is recommended to elucidate the exact role of this construct in these disorders.

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