Intolerance of Uncertainty and Health-Related Anxiety in Youth amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Understanding and Weathering the Continuing Storm

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis that continues to impact individuals worldwide. While children may be less susceptible to severe medical complications, they are nonetheless vulnerable to stress and anxiety associated with the pandemic. However, current understanding of psychological functioning and potential strategies to mitigate distress amid a pandemic is naturally limited. Consequently, this article is an attempt to fill that gap. Existing literature on pandemics, health-related anxieties, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychopathological sequelae is summarized within the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions from the empirical data and emerging theoretical models are reviewed and synthesized. Finally, several potentially engaging and effective examples of developmentally appropriate interventions targeting intolerance of uncertainty and health-related anxieties in pediatric patients during the peri-and post-pandemic periods are described.

Healthcare workers’ COVID-19 Omicron variant uncertainty-related stress, resilience, and coping strategies during the first week of World Health Organization alert

“…A similar relationship was reported in previous studies on HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic [34,35]. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to demonstrate this relationship during the first days of the emergence of a new variant, highlighting the need for stress management and psychological support for HCWs as the pandemic evolves This work also supports the association between intolerance of uncertainty and negative mental health outcomes, including perceived stress, as has been shown in numerous studies studying both HCWs and the general public during the pandemic[22,23,26,28-30]. Intolerance of uncertainty has been mostly associated with anxiety disorders, especially Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)[56,57], but is likely a trans-diagnostic construct predisposing to many psychiatric disorders [21,58-60].…”

“…Indeed, the construct of Intolerance of Uncertainty was developed to capture this tendency [20], which also contributes to the development of anxiety disorders [21]. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher intolerance of uncertainty has been found to correlate with stress and anxiety in various countries during the pandemic [22-30]. A similar correlation was also observed in HCWs, whose intolerance of uncertainty was correlated with their utilized coping strategies in the face of the pandemic[31].…”

Healthcare Workers’ SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Uncertainty-Related Stress, Resilience, and Coping Strategies during the First Week of the World Health Organization’s Alert

“…Indeed, the construct of Intolerance of Uncertainty was developed to capture this tendency [ 22 ], which also contributes to the development of anxiety disorders [ 23 ]. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher intolerance of uncertainty has been found to correlate with stress and anxiety in various countries during the pandemic [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. A similar correlation was also observed in HCWs, whose intolerance of uncertainty was correlated with their utilized coping strategies in the face of the pandemic [ 33 ].…”

In their own words: Child and adolescent perceptions of caregiver stress during early COVID-19

“…Previous studies have illustrated the complex impacts of caregiver distress and shared traumatic exposure on children's psychosocial functioning, with evidence that increased caregiver distress following disaster predicts greater child stress ( Kerns et al, 2014 ; Morris et al, 2019 ) and risk of child maltreatment ( Curtis et al, 2000 ; Lawson et al, 2020 ; Seddighi et al, 2021 ). In particular, many recent studies have highlighted the psychological effects of COVID-19 on children ( Babore et al, 2021 ; Bhogal et al, 2021 ; Jiao et al, 2020 ; Korte et al, 2021 ; Kudinova et al, 2021 ), with important insights on the relationship linking children's well-being with that of their caregivers ( Babore et al, 2021 ; Bate et al, 2021 ; Kerr et al, 2021 ; Uccella et al, 2021 ). Surveys of caregivers have reported an increase in harsh parenting including yelling and spanking during the pandemic ( Lee & Ward, 2020 ).…”