The Role of Cognitive, Behavioral, Emotional and Metacognitive Factors in Predicting Repetitive Negative Thinking: A Transdiagnostic Approach

The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictive role of emotional dysregulation, metacognitive beliefs, intolerance of uncertainty and experiential avoidance in repetitive negative thinking. In current correlational study, 510 students of Tehran University completed Repetitive Negative Thought Questionnaire (RNTQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Metacognitive Questionnaire (MCQ), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), and Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (MEAQ). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression. All study variables were correlated with the repetitive negative thought (p<0.001). The multiple regression analysis indicated that the predictive model for repetitive negative thinking respectively consisted of emotional dysregulation, experiential avoidance, metacognitive beliefs and intolerance uncertainty. These variables account for %78 of the repetitive negative thinking variance. The repetitive negative thinking is a metacognitive multifaceted construct with cognitive, behavioral, emotional and metacognitive mechanisms.