Measuring metacognitions associated with emotional distress: Factor structure and predictive validity of the metacognitions questionnaire 30

The metacognitions questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30) by Wells and Cartwright-Hatton (2004) represents a unique measure of individual differences in metacognitive beliefs, judgements and monitoring tendencies considered to be crucial in the metacognitive theory (Wells, 2000) of psychological disturbances. However, the psychometric properties of this measure have not yet been exhaustively investigated. In this study we assessed 1304 participants from the general population. The relative independence of the five factors constituting the MCQ-30 was confirmed and reliability was satisfactory. A sub-sample of 399 participants was also investigated to verify whether previously observed associations between dimensions of metacognition and emotional distress (anxiety and depression) could be replicated. Structural equation modeling revealed that dimensions of metacognition contributed to both anxiety and depression providing further support for the validity of the measure. These findings, taken together, confirm that the MCQ-30 is a valuable tool for the assessment of metacognition.