Obsessive-compulsive symptoms: the contribution of metacognitions and responsibility

Two different cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive symptoms were evaluated. One model [Salkovskis. P. M. ( 1985), Obsessional-compulsive problems a cognitive-behavioral analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 23, 571-583.] gives a central and necessary role to beliefs and appraisals concerning responsibility. The other [Wells, A. ( 1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: a practice manual and conceptual guide. Chichester, UK: Wiley.] attaches a central and necessary role to metacognitive beliefs about the meaning and danger of thoughts/feelings and the need for control, We tested the unique contributions of responsibility or metacognitions to obsessive-compulsive symptoms whilst controlling for their intercorrelations and worry, Consistent with each model, responsibility and metacognitions were positively associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, even when worry was controlled for, However, responsibility was not associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms when metacognitions and worry were controlled, but the relationship between metacognitive beliefs and obsessive-compulsive symptoms was independent of responsibility and worry, Responsibility did not add anything to the variance in symptoms explained by metacognitions, The data provide further support for the metacognitive model, (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.