Background and purpose: Humans have a capacity to become aware of thoughts and behaviors known as metacognition. The metacognitive model of anxiety disorders emphasizes that metacognitive beliefs are key factors in obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression pathology. The purpose of this research was to compare metacognitive beliefs in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression, and normal individuals. Materials and methods: A causal-comparative study was conducted in 121 people including 41 with OCD, 40 with depression, and 40 normal individuals from Taleghani Hospital, 2013. The subjects were selected by convenience sampling. The participants completed the Metacognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30 Wells & Cartwright-Hatton, 2004) Results: The results indicated a significant difference in metacognitive beliefs in different groups. In fact the average scores of subjects with OCD and depression were higher than that of the normal people (P<0.001). The mean scores of positive beliefs about worry, negative metacognitive beliefs, cognitive confidence, negative metacognitive beliefs about thoughts, and cognitive self-consciousness were higher in patients with OCD than those of the depressed and normal individuals. Conclusion: This study revealed the importance of metacognitive beliefs in OCD and depressive disorders. Also, patients with OCD were found with higher levels of dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs than other individuals.

Keywords: Metacognitive beliefs, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder

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