Effects of Worry Postponement on Daily Worry: a Meta-Analysis

• Published in: International journal of cognitive therapy 2024-03, Vol.17 (1), p.160-178
• Main Authors: Dippel, Annika, Brosschot, Jos F., Verkuil, Bart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Behavior modification; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Behavioral Therapy; Clinical Psychology; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Cognitive therapy; Cognitive-behavioral factors; Fear & phobias; Generalized anxiety disorder; Insomnia; Intervention; Meta-analysis; Metacognition; Moderation; Physiology; Post traumatic stress disorder; Postponement; Problem solving; Psychology; Psychopathology; Stimulus; Stimulus control; Women; Worry
• ISSN: 1937-1217; 1937-1209; 1937-1217
• DOI: 10.1007/s41811-023-00193-x

Worry postponement, also called stimulus control, is a simple and easy to administer intervention that often forms part of cognitive-behavioural treatments for worry. We conducted a meta-analysis to test if worry postponement is effective in reducing daily worry. Data from 7 randomized trials were included providing a total of 999 participants, of which 250 experienced worry as a burden and of which the majority was women. When comparing worry postponement to the mere registration of worries small effect sizes were observed for worry duration ( d = 0.313) and for worry frequency ( d = 0.189). Moderation analyses showed that the intervention yielded larger effect sizes in studies including more women. However, long-term follow-up studies are still lacking. Worry postponement, practiced between a week or a maximum of a month, was found to effectively reduce the frequency and duration of worry in daily life. This suggests that a simple intervention is available for people whose worries (temporarily) spiral out of control.