The Role of Metacognitions and Thinking Styles in the Negative Outcomes of Adolescents' Peer Victimization

Relationships between metacognitive beliefs and anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

As hypothesized in the Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) model, metacognitive beliefs are associated with anxiety and depression in adults. An important question is the extent to which such effects are present in children and adolescents, with the implication that the model may also apply to young people. The aim of this meta-analysis was to synthesize results on the nature and magnitude of associations between metacognitive beliefs and anxiety and depression in children and adolescents.

METHODS

Systematic searches were conducted to identify studies that investigated: (1) group differences in metacognitive beliefs in clinical compared to non-clinical samples or (2) correlations between metacognitive beliefs and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

RESULTS

Forty papers were identified comprising a total sample of 9,887 participants aged 7-18 years. Meta-analyses revealed that clinical samples endorsed significantly elevated metacognitive beliefs on four out of the five domains measured (i.e., negative beliefs about worry, cognitive confidence, need for control, and cognitive self-consciousness, with the only exception being positive beliefs about worry) compared to non-clinical samples with a small to large effect (Hedges' gs = 0.45-1.22). Moreover, all five domains of metacognitive beliefs were significantly and positively correlated with symptoms of anxiety and depression of a small to large effect (rs = .24-.53). Negative beliefs about worry showed the strongest relationship with clinical status and the magnitude of symptoms.

LIMITATIONS

The number of studies did not allow for an evaluation of metacognitive beliefs at a disorder-specific level.

CONCLUSIONS

In line with the S-REF model, our findings provide evidence of robust cross-sectional relationships between metacognitions and both anxiety and depression in childhood and adolescence.

The Protective Roles of Self-Compassion and Parental Autonomy Support Against Depressive Symptoms in Peer-Victimized Chinese Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Study

Peer victimization (PV) is a common and serious problem in school contexts, which hinders adolescents' emotional development and social adaptation. The present study aimed to test the longitudinal relationship between PV and the increase of depressive symptoms (DSs) among Chinese mid-late adolescents using a two-wave longitudinal design and examine the buffering effects of self-compassion (SC) and parental autonomy support (PAS) on this relationship. A relatively large sample of Chinese high school students (N = 722, 52.1% boys; age at Time 2 = 16.23 years old, SD = 0.79) were surveyed annually at two time points. The results showed that PV at Time 1 positively predicted DSs at Time 2 after controlling for the DSs at Time 1. In addition, SC and PAS moderated the longitudinal relationship between PV and the development of DSs, while such moderating effects only existed in girls but not in boys. Specifically, the positive relationship between PV and DSs was non-significant among girls with higher levels of SC or PAS. Our findings highlighted that SC and PAS might be important protective factors buffering against DSs for victimized girls.

Childhood bullying victimization, emotion regulation, rumination, distress tolerance, and depressive symptoms: A cross-national examination among young adults in seven countries

Existing research suggests a robust association between childhood bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adulthood, but less is known about potential mediators of this link. Furthermore, there is limited cross-national research evaluating similarities and differences in bullying victimization and its associations with mental health. The current study addressed gaps in the literature by evaluating cognitive and affective responses to stress (i.e., emotion regulation, rumination, and distress tolerance) as potential mediators of the link between recalled bullying victimization and current depressive symptoms among 5909 (70.6% female) college students from seven countries. Results revealed specific indirect associations of bullying victimization through distress tolerance and three out of four facets of rumination, as well as a persistent direct association of childhood bullying on adulthood depression. Emotion regulation strategies were not significantly associated with bullying victimization and did not mediate its association with depressive symptoms. Constrained multigroup models indicated that results were invariant across country and gender. Findings provide evidence of statistical mediation in a cross-sectional sample and await replication in prospective studies. Rumination and distress tolerance may be promising targets for resilience-promoting interventions among children experiencing peer victimization. Ongoing research is needed to clarify cross-national patterns in childhood bullying, identify additional mediators accounting for the remaining direct association, and evaluate emotion regulation as a potential moderator of associations between bullying victimization and adult mental health.

Association between Bullying Victimization and Aggression in Lebanese Adolescents: The Indirect Effect of Repetitive Negative Thinking-A Path Analysis Approach and Scales Validation

(1) Background: The purpose of the present study was to validate the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF) and test whether repetitive negative thinking plays an indirect role in the relationship between bullying victimization and aggression among Lebanese adolescents. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2022 and included 379 Lebanese adolescent students (64.9% females, mean age 16.07 years). (3) Results: The three-factor solution of the PTQ and the four-factor solution of the BPAQ-SF showed excellent model fit. PTQ mediated the association between bullying victimization and physical aggression, verbal aggression, hostility, and anger. (4) Conclusions: This study expands on previous research by showing that repetitive negative thinking, an impactful socio-cognitive factor for students' mental health, has a mediating (indirect) effect on the cross-sectional relationship between bullying victimization and aggression. This suggests that interventions aiming to prevent aggressive behaviors among adolescent students may be more effective if focused on repetitive negative thinking.

Integrative Brain Dynamics in Childhood Bullying Victimization: Cognitive and Emotional Convergence Associated With Stress Psychopathology

Bullying victimization is a form of psychological stress that is associated with poor outcomes in the areas of mental health and learning. Although the emotional maladjustment and memory impairment following interpersonal stress are well documented, the mechanisms of complex cerebral dysfunctions have neither been outlined nor studied in depth in the context of childhood bullying victimization. As a contribution to the cross-disciplinary field of developmental psychology and neuroscience, we review the neuropathophysiology of early life stress, as well as general psychological stress to synthesize the data and clarify the versatile dynamics within neuronal networks linked to bullying victimization. The stress-induced neuropsychological cascade and associated cerebral networks with a focus on cognitive and emotional convergence are described. The main findings are that stress-evoked neuroendocrine reactivity relates to neuromodulation and limbic dysregulation that hinder emotion processing and executive functioning such as semantic cognition, cognitive flexibility, and learning. Developmental aspects and interacting neural mechanisms linked to distressed cognitive and emotional processing are pinpointed and potential theory-of-mind nuances in targets of bullying are presented. The results show that childhood stress psychopathology is associated with a complex interplay where the major role belongs to, but is not limited to, the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, insula, striatum, and prefrontal cortex. This interplay contributes to the sensitivity toward facial expressions, poor cognitive reasoning, and distress that affect behavioral modulation and emotion regulation. We integrate the data on major brain dynamics in stress neuroactivity that can be associated with childhood psychopathology to help inform future studies that are focused on the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders and learning problems in bullied children and adolescents.

Thinking about worry: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the assessment of metacognitions in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

The metacognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder identifies three forms of metacognition: Positive metacognitive beliefs about worry (POS), negative metacognitive beliefs about worry (NEG), and meta-worry. Though this model was originally developed relying on adult samples, it has since been applied to children and youth in different studies, and results mostly support its validity for this group. As the roles of POS, meta-worry, and age-effects do not appear to be fully clarified for children and adolescents yet, an integration of studies on children and adolescents and the metacognitive model is both timely and worthwhile.

AIM

To summarize the current research on relationships, age-effects, and measurements for POS, NEG, and meta-worry in childhood and youth.

METHODS

We carried out a literature search in the electronic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, PSYNDEX, and ERIC in 2017 and updated in 2020. Empirical research in German or English language on metacognition was included with child and adolescent samples diagnosed with anxiety disorders or healthy controls if POS, NEG, or meta-worry were measured. Studies were included for meta-analysis if they reported correlations between these metacognitions and anxiety or worry. Consensus rating for eligibility was done for 20.89% of full-texts with 90.32% agreement. Risk of bias was assessed with the appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies and consensus rating of appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies for 20.83% of included studies attaining agreement of intraclass correlation = 0.898. Overall, correlations between metacognitions, anxiety and worry were calculated with RevMan 5.4.1, assuming random-effects models. Meta-regressions with mean age as the covariate were performed via the online tool MetaMar 2.7.0. PROSPERO-ID: CRD42018078852.

RESULTS

Overall, k = 763 records and k = 78 additional records were identified. Of those, k = 48 studies with 12839 participants were included and of those, k = 24 studies were included for meta-analysis. Most studies showed consistent NEG correlations with worry and anxiety, as well as higher values for clinical than for non-clinical samples. POS findings were less consistent. Meta-analysis revealed large effects for NEG correlating with worry and anxiety, small to medium effects for POS correlating with worry and anxiety, as well as small to medium effects for POS correlating with NEG. Meta-regressions did not reveal mean age as a significant covariate. Meta-worry was assessed in only one study. We identified eight questionnaires and one interview-format that assess metacognition about worry in children and adolescents.

CONCLUSION

POS and NEG are measurable from the age of seven upwards and correlate with anxiety and worry without influences by age. Meta-worry requires further investigation.