The Relative Deprivation Trap: How Feeling Deprived Relates to Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Introduction: How income inequality associates with poorer mental health remains unclear. Personal relative deprivation (PRD) involves appraising oneself as unfairly disadvantaged relative to similar others and has been associated with poorer mental health and negative cognitive appraisals. As generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with negative cognitive appraisals, PRD may relate to the experience of GAD and its cognitive predictors, intolerance of uncertainty (IU), positive beliefs about worry (PBW), negative beliefs about worry (NBW), and experiential avoidance (EA). Method: In two observational studies (Study 1, N = 588; Study 2, N = 301) participants completed measures of PRD, cognitive predictors and symptoms of GAD, subjective socioeconomic status (SES), self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Results: A relationship between PRD and GAD was found across studies, which was simultaneously mediated by IU and NBW. These results remained when controlling for subjective SES but were weakened when controlling for self-concept factors. Discussion: This research supports the possibility that the experience of deprivation may “trap” people in thinking patterns that contribute to anxious symptomology.

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Negative Beliefs about Worry Predict Generalized Anxiety Disorder

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e566842012-449 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Jason C. Levine ◽

Colleen Kehoe ◽

Haley Newman ◽

Valerie Rountree ◽

Raymond Fleming

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Negative Beliefs

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Metacognitive Theory and Therapy for Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Review and Status

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology ◽

10.5127/jep.007910 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. jep.007910 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Adrian Wells

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Behavioural Treatment ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Negative Beliefs ◽

Negative Appraisal ◽

Cognitive Behavioural ◽

Applied Relaxation

The metacognitive model of pathological worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) makes a crucial distinction between two types of worry and explains the persistence and uncontrollability of negative thinking as an effect of specific metacognitions. The negative appraisal of worry (meta-worry) and negative beliefs about worry are central to the development of GAD. Furthermore, GAD is associated with paradoxes in mental control such as the use of extended thinking to reduce thinking. Evidence is reviewed that supports major tenets of the model. A specific treatment, metacognitive therapy is described that focuses on modifying metacognitive beliefs and reducing the use of worry to cope with thoughts. The empirical status of the model is reviewed and evidence from recent trials of this treatment is summarized. The treatment appears to be effective and initial trials suggest it is associated with greater levels of recovery than approaches comprised of applied relaxation or cognitive-behavioural treatment focused on intolerance of uncertainty.

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Relationships between stroke, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and physical disability: some evidence from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health

Psychiatry Research ◽

10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 290 ◽

pp. 113074

Author(s):

Xinyuan Li ◽

Xianquan Wang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Community Health ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Health Survey ◽

Physical Disability ◽

Canadian Community Health Survey ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Community Health Survey

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A novel theory of experiential avoidance in generalized anxiety disorder: A review and synthesis of research supporting a contrast avoidance model of worry

Clinical Psychology Review ◽

10.1016/j.cpr.2011.01.008 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 371-382 ◽

Cited By ~ 216

Author(s):

Michelle G. Newman ◽

Sandra J. Llera

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Experiential Avoidance ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Novel Theory

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Prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder in Singapore: Results from the second Singapore Mental Health Study

Journal of Anxiety Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.102106 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 ◽

pp. 102106 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sherilyn Chang ◽

Edimansyah Abdin ◽

Saleha Shafie ◽

Rajeswari Sambasivam ◽

Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Health Study ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Mental Health Study

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An examination of generalized anxiety disorder and dysthymic disorder by latent class analysis

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291713002225 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (8) ◽

pp. 1701-1712 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D. Rhebergen ◽

I. M. van der Steenstraten ◽

M. Sunderland ◽

R. de Graaf ◽

M. ten Have ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Latent Class Analysis ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Latent Class ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Dysthymic Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Class Analysis

BackgroundThe nosological status of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) versus dysthymic disorder (DD) has been questioned. The aim of this study was to examine qualitative differences within (co-morbid) GAD and DD symptomatology.MethodLatent class analysis was applied to anxious and depressive symptomatology of respondents from three population-based studies (2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing; National Comorbidity Survey Replication; and Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2; together known as the Triple study) and respondents from a multi-site naturalistic cohort [Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA)]. Sociodemographics and clinical characteristics of each class were examined.ResultsA three-class (Triple study) and two-class (NESDA) model best fitted the data, reflecting mainly different levels of severity of symptoms. In the Triple study, no division into a predominantly GAD or DD co-morbidity subtype emerged. Likewise, in spite of the presence of pure GAD and DD cases in the NESDA sample, latent class analysis did not identify specific anxiety or depressive profiles in the NESDA study. Next, sociodemographics and clinical characteristics of each class were examined. Classes only differed in levels of severity.ConclusionsThe absence of qualitative differences in anxious or depressive symptomatology in empirically derived classes questions the differentiation between GAD and DD.

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Dysfunctional metacognition across psychopathologies: A meta-analytic review

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.05.029 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 139-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

X. Sun ◽

C. Zhu ◽

S.H.W. So

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Total Sample ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder ◽

Negative Beliefs ◽

Analytic Review

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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