Metacognitive capacity predicts severity of trauma-related dysfunctional cognitions in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Deficits in metacognition have been proposed as a barrier to adaptive responding to trauma. However, little is known about how different aspects of metacognitive capacity relate to responses to trauma and whether their potential link to such responses is independent of the overall level of psychopathology. To explore both issues, negative trauma-related cognitions about the self, the world, and self-blame, as measured by the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI), were correlated with concurrent measures of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and two forms of metacognition; the Metacognitions questionnaire (MCQ-30), which focuses on specific thoughts, and the Metacognition Assessment Scale Abbreviated (MAS-A) which focuses on the degree to which persons can form complex representations of self and other.