Abstract
Purpose Increasing evidence suggests metacognitive beliefs may underpin transdiagnostic mechanisms maintaining psychopathology. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate published studies investigating the role of metacognitive beliefs in somatic distress in adult samples. Method A systematic review was conducted, spanning five data bases. Studies meeting eligibility criteria were qualitatively synthesized. Results Thirty-six studies (N = 12,390) met inclusion criteria with results suggesting a relatively consistent positive relationship between metacognitive beliefs and somatic distress. Both general and syndrome-specific metacognitive beliefs demonstrated relationships with not only emotional distress, but also physical symptoms themselves. Conclusions Results are discussed in terms of conceptualizing somatic distress through the Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) Model. Future research into metacognitive therapy for somatic populations is recommended.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1398-1422 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | British Journal of Health Psychology |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 23 Jun 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s) 2022. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- health
- metacognition
- metacognitive belief
- physical symptom
- somatic