The role of Meta-Cognitive Beliefs and thoughts control strategies in predicting the symptoms of social anxiety in university students

The aim of this research was to study The role of Meta-Cognitive Beliefs and thoughts control strategies in predicting the symptoms of social anxiety in university students The statistical population included all university students in the academic year of 2015-2016 in Esfahan University. The research sample consisted of 400 university students who were selected by stratified sampling method. Social Phobia Inventory (Connor, Davidson & Churchill, 2000) Met-cognition Questionnaire (Wells & Cart Wright-Hatton, 2004) and Thought Control Questionnaire (Wells & Davis, 1996) were used to gather data. Data were analyzed by stepwise regression analyses. the results of stepwise regression analyses indicated that among Meta-Cognitive Beliefs, negative beliefs about worry and cognitive confidence and among thoughts control strategies, worry, punishment and social control can predict the symptoms of social anxiety significantly (P>0/05).So, the findings support the meta-cognitive model of anxiety and it seem that changing the meta-cognitive beliefs and thoughts control strategies can reduce the symptom of social anxiety.