Development of Metacognitive Beliefs about Worry Questionnaire and Investigation of Its Reliability and Validity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop Metacognitive Beliefs about Worry Questionnaire. Factor analysis found two factors for metacognitive beliefs about worry: negative and positive. Cronbach's coefficient alpha demonstrated high reliability for each subscale of the questionnaire. Correlations of the subscales with other related scales were high, indicating convergent validity. In an examination of the questionnaire's validity, we conducted an experiment to investigate whether the subscale scores predicted real-time appraisals about worry when participants were put in a situation to worry in the laboratory. Results showed that the scores predicted the real-time appraisals. The authors discussed the characteristics of metacognitive beliefs about worry and potential contribution of the concept to psychological intervention for worry.