Schlechter P, Hellmann JH, Morina N. The longitudinal relationship between well-being comparisons and anxiety symptoms in the context of uncontrollability of worries and external locus of control: a two-wave study.
ANXIETY, STRESS, AND COPING 2024:1-13. [PMID:
38248916 DOI:
10.1080/10615806.2024.2306530]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Anxiety is a prevalent mental health condition. Comparisons of one's own well-being to different aversive standards may contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms.
OBJECTIVES
Our primary goal was to investigate whether aversive well-being comparisons predict anxiety symptoms and vice versa. Additionally, we aimed at examining exploratorily whether well-being comparisons are reciprocally related to metacognitive beliefs about worrying and external control beliefs.
METHODS
In this two-wave longitudinal survey design, 922 participants completed measures of anxiety, metacognitions about the uncontrollability of worries, external locus of control, and the Comparison Standards Scale for Well-being (CSS-W) at two timepoints, three-months apart. The CSS-W assesses the frequency, perceived discrepancy, and affective impact of social, temporal, counterfactual, and criteria-based comparisons.
RESULTS
When autoregressive effects were adjusted for, aversive comparison frequency, comparison affective impact, and uncontrollability of worries at the first timepoint predicted subsequent anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, well-being comparison frequency and discrepancy at the second timepoint were predicted by baseline anxiety symptoms. External locus of control predicted comparison frequency and discrepancy.
CONCLUSIONS
Well-being comparisons contribute distinct variance to anxiety symptoms and vice versa, pointing to a vicious cirlcle of symptom escalation. These findings have significant implications for future research.
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