The metacognitions about self-critical rumination questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Self-criticism involves persistent, negative self-judgments.
• Self-critical rumination is a perseverative thinking style linked to self-criticism.
• Metacognitions may influence self-critical rumination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a measure assessing metacognitions about self-critical rumination.
• To create the Metacognitions about Self-Critical Rumination Questionnaire (MSCRQ).

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Principal Components Analysis of the MSCRQ with 178 participants.
• Study 2: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and validity testing of the MSCRQ with 247 participants.
• Correlations with other measures were used to ascertain validity.

Main Results:

• Study 1 identified a 15-item, two-factor structure for the MSCRQ.
• Study 2 confirmed a 10-item, two-factor structure.
• The MSCRQ demonstrated acceptable reliability and good concurrent/incremental validity.

Conclusions:

• The MSCRQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring metacognitions about self-critical rumination.
• The Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) better predicts general emotional distress.