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Abstract
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Metacognition has been at the centre of developments in cognitive-behavioural approaches to anxiety disorders and identified to contribute to positive symptoms of psychosis. In this study, we present the validation of the French version of Metacognition Questionnaire for Adolescents (MCQ-Af) (Cartwright-Hatton et al., 2004). The aim of this project is to examine the developmental trajectories of metacognitive beliefs over a 3-year period, and to investigate the potential links to unfolding anxiety manifestations as well as symptoms of positive schizotypy in adolescents.
The sample included 224 adolescents (118 Females), aged between 13 and 17 (mean: 15.42, SD: 1.25), recruited in different schools of French speaking Switzerland. Participants completed the MCQ-Af and the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) ; for a subsample of 70, longitudinal data were collected across 3 years, and were also tested with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the schizotypy personality questionnaire (SPQ). In addition to the validation of the MCQ-Af, statistical analyses were conducted to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between metacognition, anxiety and schizotypy scores.
Results of the validation show acceptable psychometric qualities. An initial cross-sectional analysis showed an increase of the negative metacognitive beliefs with age. Furthermore, results showed a significant positive association to anxiety and positive schizotypy. A longitudinal analysis strengthens these results and shows links between anxiety manifestations and positive schizotypy symptoms, between the age of 15 and 17, mediated by metacognitives beliefs,
Our results suggest that the MCQ-Af represents a valid instrument to evaluate metacognitive beliefs in French speaking adolescents. Our longitudinal analysis suggests a developmental link between metacognitive beliefs, anxiety manifestation and schizotypy traits in adolescence.
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