The transdiagnostic model of worry: The mediating role of experiential avoidance

The aim of this study was to examine a transdiagnostic risk factor for predicting pathological worry among non-clinical population. The prediction model of worry was examined according to the propositions of the four cognitive models of generalized anxiety disorder; including intolerance of uncertainty model, metacognitive model, model of emotional schemas and acceptance-based model. Participants were 557 students whom were studied at University of Tehran in Iran. Data were gathered by Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LESS), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II). Structural equation modeling confirmed the proposed model and indicated that intolerance of uncertainty, metacognitive beliefs and emotional schemas predicted worry both directly and indirectly through experiential avoidance (χ2/df = 1.19, CFI = 0.98, NFI = 0.96, GFI = 0.97, SRMR = 0.03, RMSEA = 0.05). These risk factors had reciprocal relationships and experiential avoidance explained the commonalities between them as a linking mechanism. The variables in the model accounted for 74% of the variance in participants' worry. According to the examined model, individual differences in the ways people use to control their internal experiences and the process of inability to accept these experiences, act like vulnerability and maintenance mechanisms in explaining worry. The findings of this study support the rationale of recent psychotherapies for generalized anxiety disorders that emphasizes both the challenging cognitions and facilitating the acceptance of internal experiences.