Catastrophic worrying: Personal inadequacy and a perseverative iterative style as features of the catastrophizing process.

Abstract

This article describes 6 studies that have used a catastrophizing interview technique to investigate some of the characteristics of catastrophic worrying. The main findings were (a) worriers were willing to catastrophize both a positive aspect of their life and a new hypothetical worry significantly more than nonworriers, (b) worriers were more likely than nonworriers to rate catastrophizing steps for a new worry as containing information relevant to existing worries, (c) worriers displayed a general iterative style that was independent of the valency of the iterative task, and (d) worriers tended to couch their worries in terms of personal inadequacies, and personal inadequacy became a feature of their catastrophizing regardless of the worry topic. Worriers' tendency to couch worries and catastrophizing steps in terms of personal inadequacies and their perseverative iterative style are both important contributors to the unresolved catastrophic thought experienced by chronic worriers.

Generalized worry disorder: a review of DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder and options for DSM-V

“…Worriers generated proportionally more ''failure/ineffectiveness'' content than nonworriers. These results were consistent with a follow-up study by Davey and Levy, [76] in which trait worry scores correlated positively with both the number of catastrophizing steps generated and independent judges' ratings of the content as ''feelings of personal inadequacy.'' Hazlett-Stevens and Craske [77] replicated this in their study of content of catastrophizing across six different domain areas of threat among controls and analog GAD participants.…”

Panic disorder: a review of DSM-IV panic disorder and proposals for DSM-V

“…[9,26] In addition to factors such as shifts in the nature of PAs over time, and reactivity to selfmonitoring, biases are likely to distort retrospective judgments of symptoms. For example, a bias to catastrophize [27] may result in recalling more symptoms than actually occurred, just as chronic pain clients tend to recall significantly more pain than they had actually experienced 3-4 weeks earlier. [28,29] Although these biases likely represent processes that are inherent to the anxiety and distress associated with PAs and PD, they may limit the veracity of the ''four or more symptoms'' cutoff.…”

Self-reported Sleep Quality and Cognitive Style in Older Adults

“…In addition, insomniacs are more likely to endorse positive beliefs about pre-sleep worry, believing that dwelling on worries and concerns can be a functional and helpful process (Harvey 2003). Catastrophic worry, or catastrophising, refers to the way that particular individuals are prone to focus on the worst possible outcome of a situation, overestimate the chance that this will occur, and exaggerate the consequences of this occurrence (see Davey and Levy 1998). Harvey and Greenall (2003) explored this process by asking good sleepers and insomniacs to describe what (if anything) worried them about nights when they had difficulty sleeping.…”