Generalized anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of repetitive negative thinking in the relationship between generalized anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction. A web survey was administered to 857 participants (365 men) who filled out a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Then, participants were divided into four groups according to levels of symptomatology. The results showed that scores for repetitive negative thinking increased due to the severity of generalized anxiety symptoms. For life satisfaction, individuals without generalized anxiety symptoms scored significantly higher than individuals with generalized anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, repetitive negative thinking mediates and explains over 54% of the relationship between generalized anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction when controlling for age, sex, clinical diagnosis, and current psychiatric medication. Overall, the current findings highlight the central role of repetitive negative thinking in the relationship between generalized anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction and reinforce a transdiagnostic process in the maintenance of anxiety symptomatology and well-being impairment.