Validation of the MetaCognition Questionnaire for Adolescents, French version (MCQ-Af) and developmental links to anxiety and positive schizotypy manifestations
Poster B85, Friday, October 21, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Yasmina Lachat Shakeshaft1, Deborah Badoud1, Larisa Morosan1, Thierry Lecerf1, Martin Debbané1; 1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Metacognition has been at the centre of developments in cognitive-behavioural approaches to anxiety disorders and identified to contribute to positive symptoms of psychosis. In this study, we present the validation of the French version of Metacognition Questionnaire for Adolescents (MCQ-Af) (Cartwright-Hatton et al., 2004). The aim of this project is to examine the developmental trajectories of metacognitive beliefs over a 3-year period, and to investigate the potential links to unfolding anxiety manifestations as well as symptoms of positive schizotypy in adolescents. The sample included 224 adolescents (118 Females), aged between 13 and 17 (mean: 15.42, SD: 1.25), recruited in different schools of French speaking Switzerland. Participants completed the MCQ-Af and the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) ; for a subsample of 30, longitudinal data were collected across 3 years, and were also tested with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the schizotypy personality questionnaire (SPQ). In addition to the validation of the MCQ-Af, statistical analyses were conducted to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between metacognition, anxiety and schizotypy scores. Results of the validation show acceptable psychometric qualities. An initial cross-sectional analysis showed an increase of the negative metacognitive believes with age. Furthermore, results showed a significant positive association to anxiety and positive schizotypy. A longitudinal analysis strengthens these results and shows a further reversed effect from anxiety symptoms towards negative metacognitive beliefs, specifically between the age of 15 and 17. Links between anxiety manifestations and schizotypy symptoms, mediated by metacognitives beliefs, were also illustrated.
Topic Area: Psychosis NOS