Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42073957›Full record

ArticleBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Managing Worrying About Worrying with Metacognitive Restructuring Versus Metacognitive Defusion.

Robert D Zettle, Huan Quan, Jonathan M Larson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Robert D ZettleDepartment of Psychology, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4754-5780
Huan QuanDepartment of Psychology, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260, USA.
Jonathan M LarsonDepartment of Psychology, Wichita State University, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Process-based cognitive behavioral therapy (PB-CBT) seeks to identify kernels that are equally efficacious in treating various disorders. While both metacognitive therapy (MCT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) represent evidence-based interventions for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), it remains unclear if there are specific components within each that are comparable in managing meta-worrying characteristic of GAD. A subclinical sample of college students received a brief session targeting a single, personally relevant meta-worry of either metacognitive restructuring as practiced in MCT or an extension of ACT defusion exercises. Both were equally effective in impacting believability, distress, and willingness ratings of the targeted worry as well as untargeted worries. However, significantly longer metacognitive defusion sessions suggest that metacognitive restructuring may represent a more cost-effective option. Levels of generalized anxiety, dispositional worrying, and depression did not moderate treatment responsivity. Implications of findings for PB-CBT research and practice are discussed within the context of study limitations.

Indexed as

generalized anxiety disordermetacognitive defusionmetacognitive restructuringprocess-based cognitive behavioral therapy

Identifiers

PMID42073957
PMCPMC13113107

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.