A questionnaire for measuring sleep-related metacognitions: a German short version of the MCQ-I

Abstract

Background and objectives: Sleep-related cognitions, but also sleep-related metacognitions (dealing with cognitions), play a role in insomnia etiology, especially in maintaining insomnia. So far, an English version of a questionnaire measuring sleep-related metacognitions with 60 items is available. The aim of the present study was the construction of a shorter German version showing satisfactory reliability and validity. Materials and methods: Overall, 512 patients with varying sleep disorders (264 women, 248 men; mean age: 45.04 ± 16.70 years) participated. The MCQ‑I was completed prior to the consultation in the sleep center. Results: The 20-item version showed high internal consistency (r = 0.906) and high retest reliability (r = 0.916). Patients with insomnia diagnosis had higher MCQ-I 20 sum scores compared to patients with other sleep disorders. Interestingly, patients with diagnoses of depressive disorder or nightmare disorder also reported higher values of sleep-related metacognitions. Conclusion: Sleep-related metacognitions seem to play a role in insomnia etiology. It would be very interesting to test whether metacognitive therapy can be as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia in alleviating insomnia symptomatology.