Relationships between worry, obsessive–compulsive symptoms and meta-cognitive beliefs

The present study had two principal aims. First, the overlap between the revised Padua Inventory (PI-WSUR) a measure of obsessive–compulsive symptoms (Burns et al., 1996) and worry was assessed. Second, the relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs, proneness to pathological worry and obsessive–compulsive symptoms was explored when controlling for the interdependency of worry and obsessive–compulsive measures. The results indicate that whilst the PI-WSUR shows reduced overlap with the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, there are still problematic levels of overlap with a more content-based measure of worry. Results of multiple regression analyses demonstrated that specific sets of meta-cognitive beliefs were associated with worry proneness and obsessive–compulsive symptoms. The present data are consistent with recent formulations of generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder.