Metacognitions and basic emotions in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease
Maria Quattropani, Vittorio Lenzo, Antonella Filastro, Walter Fries
The aim of this research was to compare through two studies metacognition and relationships with
basic emotions in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients. The
participants consisted of 120 outpatients with an IBS or IBD diagnosis who completed a demographic
questionnaire, the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30), the Affective Neuroscience Personality
Scale (ANPS), and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSR). A between-subjects non-parametric,
correlational design was adopted. Results did not show significant differences between IBS and IBD
patients for metacognitions and basic emotions. The results of correlational analysis showed strong
and specific correlations between metacognitive factors and the other variables investigated for IBS
and IBD patients. Negative beliefs were strongly correlated with fear, anger, and sadness. Correlations
coefficients were higher in IBD than IBS patients. Other metacognitive factors were differently
correlated for IBS and IBD patients. Cognitive confidence was highly correlated with anger in IBD but
not IBS patients. Finally, cognitive self-consciousness did not show relations with basic emotions as
evaluated by ANPS.
Keywords
Metacognition, Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales, IBS, IBD, Anxiety.
