Abstract

The concept of worry has been receiving an increasing attention from psychologists and researchers. Such a concept has been studied from a cognitive, physiological and psychopathological perspective. Aim of the present paper is to review the current literature about worry, paying particular attention to the following aspects: definition and associated characteristics, its relationship with other cognitive constructs (intolerance for uncertainty, perfectionism, procrastination, tendence to catastrophize) and emotional processing, the physiology, the psychopathology, and the assessment issues. We then conclude by briefly outlining the new conceptual and research tendencies.