A Comparison of the Metacognitive Beliefs among Schizophrenic and Depressed Patients with the Ones of Normal Group

Introduction: This study attempts to compare the metacognitive beliefs of three groups, namely, schizophrenic patients, depressed patients and normal individuals.
Method: This Research is a causative-comparative study in which 90 individuals (30 schizophrenic patients, 30 depressed patients and 30 normal individuals each containing an equal number of males and females) were participated. They were selected from the volunteered patients of two psychiatric centers – Roozbeh Tehran and Zare Sari – in 2009. The normal individuals were randomly selected. Based on the psychiatrist's diagnosis, each group was evaluated by metacognitive questionnaire long form. ANOVA is used to analyze the data.
Results: The findings of the study show that there are significant differences among the scores of schizophrenic, depressed and normal groups. The mean scores of metacognitive beliefs and its elements, except cognitive self-consciousness are higher than those of depressed and normal individuals. Moreover, the metacognitive beliefs scores of depressed group is significantly higher than those of normal group.
Conclusion: In comparison with the normal group, the schizophrenic and depressed groups gained higher mean scores. Schizophrenic patients in comparison with other groups have disordered beliefs.