Volume 20, Issue 2
Worry Trait and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in a Sample of General Population: the differential role of intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, negative problem orientation, and meta-beliefs
Abstract
In this study we show a research contrastingthe generalized anxiety disorder model proposed by Dugas,Gagnon, Ladouceur y Freeston (1998), which considers fourrelated processes: the intolerance to uncertainty, the negativeorientation towards the problem, the cognitive avoidanceand the meta-beliefs. This model is proved in a sample of 281adults in the general population. Results show that the fourprocesses are highly related to GAD and worry-trait, althoughwith some variations. The common processes between thesetwo constructs are negative orientation towards the problemand worrying as positive perfectionism, however, the uncertaintygenerating inhibition is GAD's more specific, and uncertainty asconfusion and unpredictability is more of the worry-trait, as wellas distraction actions and thought suppression. The results arediscussed taking into account the differences between worry-traitand GAD.
Keywords
intolerance to uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, negative orientation towards theproblem, meta-beliefs, worry-trait, GAD