Psychological inflexibility mediates the effects of self-efficacy and anxiety sensitivity on worry.

Recent research has found low levels of general self-efficacy (GSE: beliefs about the ability to appropriately handle a wide range of stressors) and high levels of anxiety sensitivity (AS: fear of the negative consequences of experiencing anxiety) to be relevant predictors of pathological worry. This study examined the role of psychological inflexibility (PI: the dominance of private experiences over chosen values and contingencies in guiding action), the central component of the acceptance and commitment therapy model of psychopathology, in the effect of GSE and AS on worry. A total of 132 nonclinical participants completed questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Partial correlations and regression analyses showed that both GSE and AS were independent predictors of pathological worry after controlling for each other. However, mediation analyses revealed that psychological inflexibility completely mediated the independent effects of both GSE and AS on pathological worry. Theoretical and treatment implications of the results are discussed.