The role of cognitive flexibility in the generalized anxiety of people with neuroticism

Introduction: The anxiety is a main aspect of neuroticism that may be related to variables such as cognitive flexibility. Aim: The aim of present research was to explain generalized anxiety in neurotic people based on cognitive flexibility. Method: This research was a correlational design study. The research population consisted of students of Arak University in 2019, from which a sample of 300 people was selected by convenience sampling method. At first, the Neuroticism Scale of NEO-FFI, Brief Scale of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) were administered. Then, 70 participants who had high scores in neuroticism based on the Neuroticism Scale (score of 24 and above) were studied. The data were analyzed using simultaneous multiple regression method, by SPSS software, version 21. Results: The results showed that component of cognitive flexibility predicted approximately 18% of variance in generalized anxiety in people with neuroticism (F=7.141, p<0.001), that perceive the controllability (with a Beta coefficient of -0.417) had a significant role in this prediction, while the cognitive alternatives did not have a significant role. Conclusion: It can be said that perceive the controllability is an important variable in predicting the generalized anxiety of neurotic people that should be seriously considered to moderate their anxiety.