Metacognitive beliefs and adolescents' mental health

Abstract

Adolescents are at a greater risk of developing depression than most other age group, and negative consequences are associated with the early onset of this mental health problem. It is therefore extremely important to have a comprehensive understanding of the aetiology of adolescents’ depression to be able to develop effective intervention initiatives. Traditional approaches to conceptualizing psychopathology have mainly relied on the cognitive approach, while a more recent trend has been developed to understand psychopathology from a metacognitive perspective. The metacognitive model of depression proposes that metacognitive beliefs about rumination increase an individual’s vulnerability to depression. Specifically, positive metacognitive beliefs about rumination increase an individual’s ruminative tendency, which subsequently intensifies negative metacognitive beliefs about rumination. These negative metacognitive beliefs worsen an individual’s mood, and eventually leading to depression. The metacognitive theory has been extensively examined on the adult population. However, little is known about the influence of metacognitive beliefs about rumination on the mental health of adolescents. Therefore, in this research, three studies were conducted to examine the relationship between metacognitive beliefs and adolescents’ mental health, the factors associated with the development of metacognitive beliefs, and the possibility of modifying the metacognitive beliefs of adolescents.

Study One was conducted on 151 community adolescents to examine the association between metacognitive beliefs about rumination, rumination and depressive symptoms. In Study Two, 85 adolescent-parent pairs were recruited to examine how parental factors relate to adolescents’ metacognitive beliefs about rumination. Each family was asked to participate in an observational task, for documenting parenting characteristics. In Study Three, 66 students were recruited and separated into two groups. One group participated in the metacognitive training and the other group participated in the psychoeducation programme. The intervention effects on students’ metacognitive beliefs, rumination and depressive level were examined and compared.

The results showed that metacognitive beliefs are associated with ruminative tendency and depressive symptoms on adolescent population. Besides, parental factors were found to relate to adolescents’ metacognitive beliefs. Specifically, students’ and parents’ metacognitive beliefs were found to be significantly associated with each other; and parenting was found to predict students’ metacognitive beliefs. The results also suggested the possibility of modifying students’ metacognitive beliefs about rumination through metacognitive training.

Overall, the current research has enhanced our understanding of the metacognitive model of depression and examined the influence of metacognitive beliefs about rumination on adolescents’ mental health. Clinicians could attempt to conceptualize adolescents’ depression with a metacognitive approach. This research has also shed light on developing intervention programmes from a metacognitive perspective in order to strengthen adolescents’ mental health.