On the relationship between temperament, metacognition, and anxiety: independent and mediated effects

The present study examined the relations between temperamental traits distinguished in regulative theory of temperament, state anxiety, and metacognition as postulated in self-regulatory executive function (S-REF) theory of emotional disorder. Data analysis (n = 315) consisted of independent and mediated effect analyses. Of the six traits, briskness, emotional reactivity and perseveration correlated significantly with both state anxiety and metacognitions (emotional reactivity and perseveration correlated positively, and briskness - negatively). These traits were predictors of state anxiety. Metacognition predicted state anxiety and relationships were independent of temperament. A mediating effect of metacognition was confirmed for the general index as well as negative and positive belief subscales. The findings support the metacognitive model of psychopathology and suggest that temperament is associated with metacognitions implicated in psychopathology and may have both direct and metacognitively mediated effects on anxiety.