The role of metacognitions in predicting anxiety and depression levels in cancer patients ongoing chemotherapy

Cancer patients often have to deal with numerous side effects and psychological distress during chemotherapy. Research hasshown that dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs are the basis for the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. Thepresent research is a first attempt to explore how metacognitions influence anxiety and depression in cancer patients undergoingchemotherapy.A sample of 175 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy completed a demographic questionnaire, the MetacognitionsQuestionnaire-30 (MCQ-30)and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Medical information about the stage ofdisease and the history of treatment was obtained. Linguistic analysis (Stansfield et al 1992) was employed to ensure that theform had been correctly translated because the Italian form of the MCQ-30 was utilized (Quattropani, et.al, 2014)Negative beliefs, the need to control thoughts, and positive beliefs explained up to 89% of variance of anxiety in cancer patientsduring chemotherapy. The negative beliefs about worry and the gender explained up to 81% of variance of depression in cancerpatients during chemotherapy. In fact, female gender was positively correlated with depression level of patients. The negativebeliefs about worry and the need to control thoughts explained the 81% variance for the overall distress of patients duringchemotherapy.In conclusion, some metacognitive factors have a crucial role both for anxiety and depression in cancer patients ongoingchemotherapy. It is suggested that the psychological intervention for cancer patients should assess such factors and try to addressthem in clinical practice.