Objective: The present study aimed at examining worry, cognitive avoidance, intolerance of uncertainty, and metacognitive beliefs, as transdiagnostic factors, in clinical samples with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Methods: In total, 200 patients (66 with GAD, 74 with OCD, and 60 with comorbid GAD and OCD) were selected to participate in this study using the purposeful sampling method. The participants completed the Penn State worry questionnaire, cognitive avoidance questionnaire, intolerance of uncertainty scale, and metacognitive beliefs questionnaire.
Results: The findings showed no significant difference between patients with GAD and OCD in total scores of these constructs; however, the patients with comorbidity of GAD and OCD showed significantly higher scores in these measures (P<0.01) compared with the patients with GAD or OCD.
Conclusion: These cognitive factors are possible transdiagnostic factors shared between GAD and OCD. Moreover, they considerably increase when GAD and OCD co-occur.