Intolerance of uncertainty predicts analogue posttraumatic stress following adverse life events

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is evidence that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is associated with elevated post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. There is a scarcity of research examining whether IU is prospectively related to PTS following exposure to negative life events. Using data from a Dutch student-sample, we examined the degree to which IU predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms associated with negative stressful life events (analogue posttraumatic stress (PTS)). DESIGN: This was a prospective survey-study. METHODS: A group of 193 undergraduate students completed self-report measures of Inhibitory IU, Prospective IU, and anxiety sensitivity (at Time 1, T1). One year later (at T2), participants rated adverse life-events experienced between T1 and T2, and completed a questionnaire tapping PTS associated with the most distressing event experienced in this time-frame. We hypothesized that pre-event Inhibitory IU and-to a lesser extent-Prospective IU would predict analogue PTS, after covarying for anxiety sensitivity. RESULTS: As predicted, pre-event Inhibitory IU predicted post-event analogue PTS, even when controlling for anxiety sensitivity. With respect to distinct analogue PTS clusters, Inhibitory IU predicted PTS avoidance and PTS hyperarousal, but was unrelated to PTS reexperiencing. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirm that IU, particularly Inhibitory IU, may convey risk for elevated PTS following adverse life events.

Intolerance of uncertainty, rumination, post-traumatic stress symptoms and aggression during COVID-19: a serial mediation model

“…Although IU has been proposed as a cognitive risk factor for generalized anxiety disorder, it is increasingly acknowledged as a transdiagnostic concept (McEvoy, Hyett, Shihata, Price, & Strachan, 2019 ). Failing to cope with uncertainty, individuals become more vulnerable to experience stress through life events and are at high risk of developing PTSS after various negative life events (Boelen, 2019 ; Oglesby, Boffa, Short, Raines, & Schmidt, 2016 ). Studies have also shown that IU is associated with insomnia (Voitsidis et al, 2020 ), less positivity (Bakioğlu, Korkmaz, & Ercan, 2020 ), fear of COVID-19 (Deniz, 2021 ), health anxiety (Tull et al, 2020 ), increased fear of the coronavirus (Mertens, Gerritsen, Duijndam, Salemink, & Engelhard, 2020 ), depression, and emotional eating (Pak, Süsen, Nazlıgül, & Griffiths, 2021 ), and can predict anxiety and depressive symptoms (e.g.…”

“…It is known that not only event-related stressors but also the individual differences in underlying psychological predispositions may affect how well individuals will cope or suffer in times of crises and traumatic exposures. The findings of the aforementioned studies indicated that IU, as a dispositional tendency, impairs the psychological functioning of the individual and predicts PTSS (Boelen, 2019 ; Oglesby et al, 2016 ), and the relationship between IU and PTSS is mediated by rumination (Taha et al, 2014 ). Longitudinal and experimental studies provided supporting evidence on the role of rumination in the development of PTSD symptoms, even after controlling for the initial level of stress symptoms (e.g.…”

Neural and Self-report Measures of Sensitivity to Uncertainty as Predictors of COVID-Related Negative Affect

“…Research has shown that IU is fairly stable over time, though it can be modified with treatment ( Birrell et al, 2011 ; Mahoney & McEvoy, 2012 ). IU has also been shown to longitudinally predict mental health outcomes ( Boelen, 2019 ; Cai et al, 2020 ; Oglesby et al, 2016 ). Our findings add to the existing body of literature by confirming that IU is correlated with baseline depression and anxiety.…”

Psychological distress of COVID‐19 pandemic and associated psychosocial factors among Mexican students: An exploratory study

“…Trauma brings significant changes in many different aspects, and it is vital to assess stress in the face of a traumatic event (Uzer et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, stress is associated with other psychological problems such as uncertainty, anxiety, and poor emotional regulation (Boelen, 2019 ; Weiss et al, 2019 ). Stress among students is caused not only by academic issues, but by environmental and social factors (Raufelder et al, 2018 ).…”