The association between metacognitions, the obsessive compulsive symptom dimensions and hoarding: A focus on specificity

Abstract In recent year’s metacognitive theories – particularly the self-regulatory executive function model proposed by Wells and colleagues – have emerged as a potentially useful perspective from which to extend current cognitive-behavioral models for the mood and anxiety disorders. Metacognitions refer to different beliefs individuals endorse about their thoughts, internal states, and effective coping strategies. Research has linked these attitudes to obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS), yet it remains unclear whether there may be a differential association with the different OCS dimensions and hoarding. The current study aimed to investigate the specific relationships between the OCS dimensions, hoarding, and metacognitions controlling for general distress. The sample ( N =160) was comprised of young adults at a large university in Germany. Although all symptom types were significantly linked with the various metacognitions assessed (all p ’s