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Negative Thoughts and Metacognitions in Anxious Children Following CBT

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate reductions in negative automatic thoughts and metacognitive beliefs as predictors of treatment gains in CBT for childhood anxiety disorders. A sample of 44 clinically anxious children between 7 and 12 years of age, who underwent CBT, completed questionnaires assessing negative thinking, metacognitive beliefs and processes, and anxiety symptoms before, after, and 6 months following treatment. Results indicated that negative thoughts and metacognitions decreased equally during the treatment period. Furthermore, metacognitions continued to decrease during the posttreatment period. Negative thinking and metacognitions were both significant predictors of reductions in child-reported anxiety from pre- to posttreatment. For long-term anxiety changes, only decreases in negative thoughts were related to anxiety reduction. Mediation analysis showed that metacognitions partially mediated the relation between negative thinking and anxiety. The study supports negative automatic thoughts and metacognitive beliefs and processes as putative mediators of CBT.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Egmont Foundation under Grant number 831-2205 and the Helse Foundation under Grant number 2008A438. We wish to thank all participating children and parents for taking part in this study. We are also very grateful for the time and effort provided by students and staff at the Copenhagen Child Anxiety Project.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Nicoline Normann, Nicole Nadine Lønfeldt, Marie Louise Reinholdt-Dunne & Barbara Hoff Esbjørn

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  1. Nicoline Normann
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  2. Nicole Nadine Lønfeldt
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  3. Marie Louise Reinholdt-Dunne
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  4. Barbara Hoff Esbjørn
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Correspondence to Nicoline Normann.

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Nicoline Normann, Nicole Nadine Lønfeldt, Marie Louise Reinholdt-Dunne and Barbara Hoff Esbjørn declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The present study complies with current ethical standards in assessment and treatment of the sample enrolled. Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the study.

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Normann, N., Lønfeldt, N.N., Reinholdt-Dunne, M.L. et al. Negative Thoughts and Metacognitions in Anxious Children Following CBT. Cogn Ther Res 40, 188–197 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-015-9740-2

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