An examination of the relationships between perceived parental attitudes, personality traits, metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty as the predictors of pathological worry

The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of perceived parental attitudes and personality traits, which are accepted as general vulnerability factors for psychopathologies, with pathological worry in the framework of the mediating role of metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty, which are proposed to be specific vulnerability factors to worry as representing different theoretical perspectives. For this purpose; the Demographic Information Form, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Metacognitions Questionnaire-30, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Short-Egna Minnen Barndoms Uppfostran and Basic Personality Traits Inventory were administered to 303 female and 126 male university students. Parallel multiple mediation analyses with Bootstrapping method were used to test the main hypotheses of the study. Results indicated that mother's rejection and parental overprotection predicted pathological worry. Neuroticism, conscientiousness, negative valence, extraversion and openness to experience were also significant predictors of pathological worry. Both perceived parental attitudes and personality traits directly predicted maladaptive metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty. Positive and negative metacognitive beliefs, need to control thoughts and intolerance of uncertainty directly predicted pathological worry, as well. Mediation analyses revealed that parental rejection and overprotection predicted pathological worry through the specific indirect effects of negative metacognitive beliefs, need to control thoughts and intolerance of uncertainty. Neuroticism, negative valence and extraversion predicted pathological worry through the specific indirect effects of negative metacognitive beliefs, need to control thoughts and intolerance of uncertainty. In summary, results implied that perceived parental attitudes and personality traits asgeneral/higher-order vulnerability factors; metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty as specific/second-order vulnerability factors may play an important role in the development and maintenance of pathological worry.