Abstract
Metacognition among those reporting psychotic symptoms is associated with a distortion in the way they understand their own and others’ mental states. Recent advances suggest that distortion in the form of self-criticism may activate a threat response and fuel symptom expression. At high level of self-criticism metacognition may reduce its protective role towards psychosis. Here, we explored whether the associations between impaired self-reflectivity and delusional ideation would decrease in the presence of self-criticism. A moderated regression model confirmed our hypothesis in a large sample of healthy young adults (N = 2065) even when controlled for sex, education, and family income. Our findings suggest how interventions aimed at reducing symptoms and promoting metacognition should always be interconnected with those targeting self-criticism.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.
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Cheli, S., Cavalletti, V., Mancini, F. et al. What if metacognition is not enough? Its association with delusion may be moderated by self-criticism. Curr Psychol 42, 11552–11555 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02451-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02451-7