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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
An empirical test of the metacognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder
Henrik Nordahl1, Tarjei Vollset1, Odin Hjemdal1
1Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract:
The metacognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) places worrying, meta-worry ("worry about worry") and corresponding underlying metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about worry) as central in the maintenance of symptoms. Previous research has demonstrated significant relationships between these factors and symptoms, but no study has tested the statistical fit of this influential model including its hypothesized components and the suggested paths between them. The aim of the current study was therefore to evaluate the fit of the metacognitive model of GAD. A total of 312 participants constituting an analogue GAD sample were included in a cross-sectional study and completed self-report measures of anxiety and depression symptoms and scales relevant to the metacognitive model. Metacognitions, worry, and meta-worry in their hypothesized order provided a good model fit and explained significant and substantial variance in symptoms. These results provide further support for the metacognitive model of GAD and demonstrates separate and unique contributions from worry and meta-worry to generalized anxiety symptoms of which meta-worry was the most influential.
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