The Role of Emotion Dysregulation, Repetitive Negative Thoughts and Thought-Action Fusion, in Prediction of Worry

Abstract

Introduction: Worry is a prevalent phenomenon and common feature in many psychological disorders, especially anxiety disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of thought-action fusion, emotion dysregulation and repetitive negative thoughts in the prediction of worry Method: According to the research design (correlation), the Pearson correlation and the multiple regression methods was used. In the current study, 343 students from the Kharazmi University were selected by a convenience sampling method and then completed Thought Fusion Inventory (TFI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Strategies Scale (DERS), Repetitive Negative Thoughts Questionnaire and Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Results: The results showed that thought-action fusion, repetitive negative thoughts and emotion dysregulation have a significant and positive correlation with worry (p<0.01). Moreover, the stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the variation of worry can be explained by difficulty in emotion regulation (25%) at the first step, as well as repetitive negative thoughts and difficulty in emotion regulation (31%) at the second step. Also, the thought-action fusion excluded from this model. Conclusion: The results of this study provide evidence that emotion dysregulation and repetitive negative thoughts have been able to predict worry and this result can be considered a step towards a better understanding of the nature of the worry.

Keywords

• worry
• thought-action fusion
• repetitive negative thought
• emotion dysregulation