Health, 2014, 6, 1662-1668
Published Online July 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/health
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/health.2014.613197
How to cite this paper: Salehi Moghadam, N., Abolmaali, K.H. and Mojtabaie, M. (2014) Comparison of Meta-Cognitive Be-
liefs with Regard to Depressed, Obsessive-Compulsive and Normal Individuals. Health, 6, 1662-1668.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/health.2014.613197
Comparison of Meta-Cognitive Beliefs with
Regard to Depressed, Obsessive-Compulsive
and Normal Individuals
Niknaz Salehi Moghadam, Khadijeh Abolmaali
*
, Mina Mojtabaie
Department of psychology, Islamic Azad University Roudehen Branch, Tehran, Iran
Email:
*
sama.abolmaali@gmail.com
Received 29 May 2014; revised 9 July 2014; accepted 22 July 2014
Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
The main purpose of the present study was to investigate and compare the meta-cognitive beliefs
of three groups consisting of depressed, obsessive-compulsive and normal individuals. This ex-
post facto study was carried out on 174 individuals (58 depressed, 58 obsessive-compulsive, and
58 normal). The depressed and obsessive-compulsive patients were selected from psychological
clinics in central and southern Tehran using purposive sampling. The normal group was randomly
selected from the staff of the related clinics. Participants completed three questionnaires includ-
ing the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory
(MOCI), and the Meta-CognitionsQuestionnaire-30 (MCQ-30). The MANOVA test was used to ana-
lyze the statistical data. There were significant differences between the mean scores with regard
to the meta-cognitive beliefs in normal individuals and in patients with depression or obsessive-
compulsive disorders. Furthermore, with regard to cognitive confidence and cognitive self-con-
sciousness subscales, there were significant differences between depressed and obsessive-com-
pulsive patients. The mean scores of these two subscales were higher in obsessive-compulsive pa-
tient, in comparison with depressed individuals. There was no significant difference between the
depressed and obsessive-compulsive groups regarding the three subscales of positive beliefs
about worry, uncontrollability and need to control thoughts.
Keywords
Meta-Cognitive Beliefs, Depression, Obsessive-Compulsive
1. Introduction
The study of meta-cognition was initially established in relation to developmental psychology and then it was
*
Corresponding author.