Publication Name	World Journal of Psychiatry
Manuscript ID	126282
DOI	10.5498/wjp.126282
Country	Türkiye

Category	Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Manuscript Type	Review
Article Title	Metacognitive beliefs, affective-defensive processes, spiritual coping, and psychological distress: A structured narrative review
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Süheyb Okur
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Süheyb Okur, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology of Religion, Faculty of Theology, Bayburt University, Baberti Campus, Tuzcuzade District, Demirozu Avenue, Bayburt 69000, Türkiye. okurozan@hotmail.com
Key Words	Metacognitive beliefs; Repetitive negative thinking; Spiritual coping; Spiritual struggle; Scrupulosity; Defense mechanisms; Meaning-making; Neurotheology; Psychological distress
Core Tip	This review offers clinicians and psychology-of-religion researchers a structured formulation map linking metacognitive appraisal, affective-defensive regulation, and spiritual-existential meaning. It distinguishes established component evidence from indirect associations and untested recursive pathways, and identifies four assessable interaction nodes: Affective loading, metacognitive appraisal, sacred attribution, and regulatory response. The model may support culturally sensitive assessment of intrusive thoughts, guilt, scrupulosity, repetitive negative thinking, and spiritual struggle, but it is not a diagnostic tool or treatment protocol. Its value depends on prospective, cross-cultural, and incremental-validity testing against simpler cognitive, metacognitive, affect-regulation, and spiritual-coping accounts.
Citation	Okur S. Metacognitive beliefs, affective-defensive processes, spiritual coping, and psychological distress: A structured narrative review. World J Psychiatry 2026; In press DOI: https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.126282
PDF	126282-in-press.pdf

Received	2026-08-03 08:49
Peer-Review Started	2026-08-05 05:55
First Decision by Editorial Office Director
Return for Revision	2026-08-27 08:08
Revised	2026-09-01 07:42
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-10-26 07:15
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-10-26 10:13
Articles in Press	2026-10-26 10:13
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2220-3206 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
Permissions	For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
Publisher	Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Website	http://www.wjgnet.com