The Role of Childhood Traumatic Experiences, Attachment Styles, and Metacognitive Beliefs in Predicting Symptoms of Illness Anxiety Disorder among Students of University of Tabriz : A Cross-sectional Study

Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Despite the high prevalence of this disorder, there are few studies and many unknown issues about it. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of childhood traumatic experiences, attachment styles, and metacognitive beliefs in predicting the symptoms of IAD.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 395 students (71 male, 324 female) of the University of Tabriz with associate, bachelor, master, and Ph.D. degrees were selected through the available sampling method. The questionnaires used in this research included the Whiteley Index to measure illness anxiety, the metacognitive beliefs questionnaire (MCQ-30), the checklist of traumatic life experiences to evaluate childhood traumatic experiences, and the experiences in close relationships- a revised form to evaluate attachment styles. Participants completed the questionnaires after obtaining the necessary permits and checking the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

The average age of men was 27.2 ± 8.54 and women 25.24 ± 6.84. Pearson Correlation coefficients showed that traumatic childhood experiences 0.289 (p<0.01), anxious attachment 0.402 (p<0.01), and metacognitive beliefs 0.418 (p<0.01) have significant positive correlations with illness anxiety. Also, based on the results of simultaneous multiple regression analysis, research variables predicted 29% of the changes in symptoms of IAD significantly. Furthermore, childhood traumatic experiences, anxious attachment, and metacognitive beliefs with Beta coefficients of 0.22, 0.18, and 0.27 can significantly predict the changes related to IAD symptoms.

Different interpersonal and metacognitive factors can play a role in IAD symptoms, but various studies such as causality and experimental studies are needed to investigate the role of different factors in IAD symptoms.