The Mediating Role of Metacognitive Beliefs and Worry in the Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Health Anxiety in Female Breast Cancer Survivors
Keywords:
ambiguity intolerance, health anxiety, meta-cognitive beliefs, worryAbstract
The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of metacognitive beliefs and worry in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and health anxiety in female breast cancer survivors. This study employed a descriptive correlational design. The statistical population consisted of all women who had recovered from breast cancer in the city of Sirjan in 2024. From this population, 216 women were selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments included the Health Anxiety Questionnaire developed by Salkovskis et al. (2002), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire by Meyer et al. (1990), the Metacognition Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) by Wells and Cartwright-Hatton (2004), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale–Version 2 (IUS-2) by McLean (2009). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that worry significantly and positively mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and health anxiety (β = 0.081, p = 0.028). Metacognitive beliefs also significantly and positively mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and health anxiety (β = 0.072, p = 0.039). It appears that as the level of uncertainty tolerance increases in these women, they experience lower levels of metacognitive beliefs and worry, and consequently, reduced health anxiety.
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