The Effect of Metacognition on Emotion Regulation in Adolescents with Borderline Personality Disorder and Normal Adolescents
Keywords:
Metacognition, Emotion Regulation, Borderline Personality Disorder, Adolescents, Structural Equation ModelingAbstract
This study aimed to examine the impact of metacognitive components on cognitive emotion regulation strategies and to compare these relationships between adolescents with borderline personality disorder and normal adolescents. This was a descriptive-correlational cross-sectional study using structural equation modeling. The population consisted of adolescents aged 14–18 in Tehran in 2025. A total of 68 participants were selected through purposive (clinical group) and convenience sampling (normal group), with 58 valid cases analyzed. Instruments included the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) and the Metacognition Questionnaire (MCQ-30). Data were analyzed using SPSS-27 and SmartPLS-4 through path analysis and multi-group analysis (MGA), with a significance level of 0.05 . Cognitive uncertainty showed no significant effect on emotion regulation components (p>0.05). Metacognitive self-awareness had a significant negative effect on positive refocusing (β = -0.375, p = 0.010) and self-blame (β = -0.395, p < 0.001). Negative beliefs about uncontrollability of thoughts emerged as the strongest predictor, showing significant positive effects on acceptance, catastrophizing, other-blame, rumination, and self-blame (β = 0.254 to 0.559, p < 0.05), and significant negative effects on positive refocusing and reappraisal (β = -0.547, p < 0.001). MGA results confirmed significant group differences in selected paths. Metacognitive beliefs, particularly negative beliefs about thought uncontrollability, play a central role in maladaptive emotion regulation, with distinct patterns across clinical and non-clinical adolescents, highlighting the need for metacognitive-focused interventions.
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