The Relationship of Metacognition with Worry: The Mediating Role of Emotional Flexibility and Affective Style

This study aimed to assess the structural relationships between metacognition, emotional flexibility, affective styles, and worry in a nonclinical Persian sample. Two hundred seventy-seven undergraduate students were selected by convenience sampling and then completed the Pennsylvania State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), Metacognitive Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), Affective Styles Questionnaire (ASQ), and Emotional Flexibility Questionnaire (EFQ). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on Linear Structural relationships (LISREL). The model examination indicated that the proposed theoretical model had the goodness of fit with the measurement model (SMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.04; NFI = 0.97; GFI = 0.97; CFI = 0.99; IFI = 0.99). Also, the results of SEM presented the significant direct impact of metacognition on worry (β = 0.40; P < 0.05). The relationships between metacognition and worry are mediated by emotional flexibility (β = 0.120; P < 0.05) and affective styles (β = 0.121; P < 0.05). According to the finding, the maladaptive affective styles and emotional inflexibility are good predictors of worry and should be considered in treating pathological worry.