Trends in the dose-response relationship between adverse childhood experiences and maladaptive metacognitive beliefs: A cross-sectional study

Background: Since the publication of the major research on adverse childhood experiences (ACE) at the turn of the millennium, our knowledge about the prevalence and physical and mental consequences of childhood adversities has increased substantially. In parallel, research on metacognition, which plays an important role in understanding our mental functioning, has also been on the rise. Although the adverse effects of ACEs on mental processes and the role of metacognitive deficits in the development of mental disorders are widely known, hardly any research into the interaction between these two areas has been conducted; this is what triggered our investigation.

Methods: Our research was carried out as a cross-sectional study on a sample of 304 members of the general population. We measured ACEs with the 10-item Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire and maladaptive metacognitions-positive and negative metacognitive beliefs, cognitive confidence, cognitive self-consciousness, and need to control thoughts- using the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire. The closeness of the relationship between the ACE score and metacognitions was measured using Pearson's linear correlation coefficient, while the association of ACE accumulation with metacognitive beliefs was assessed using generalized linear models.

Results: The most common ACE in our sample turned out to be emotional neglect (44.74%). All the examined maladaptive metacognitive beliefs correlate mildly to moderately with the number of suffered ACEs (r = 0.13-0.34), with an increase in the ACE score leading to a rise in the salience of maladaptive metacognitive beliefs. Moreover, a dose-response relationship was seen between increases in ACE scores and the overall values of metacognition, negative metacognitive beliefs, and the maladaptive metacognitive belief of the need to control thoughts.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that the more ACEs were experienced in childhood, the more pronounced the dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs are. Therefore, our findings emphasize the importance of further research into the topic.