The intolerance of uncertainty scale for children: a psychometric evaluation.
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has contributed to our understanding of excessive worry and adult anxiety disorders, but there is a paucity of research on IU in child samples. This gap is due to the absence of a psychometrically sound measure of IU in youth. The present study adapted parallel child- and parent-report forms of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) and examined the internal consistency, convergent validity, and classification properties of these forms in youth aged 7-17 (M = 11.6 years, SD = 2.6). Participating youth (N = 197; 100 girls, 97 boys) either met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder (n = 73) or were nonreferred community participants (n = 124). The child-report form (i.e., IUS for Children, or IUSC), and to a lesser extent the parent-report form, demonstrated strong internal consistency and convergent validity, evidenced by significant associations with anxiety and worry (and reassurance-seeking in the case of the child-report form). Children diagnosed with anxiety disorders scored higher than nonreferred community youth on both forms. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated acceptable overall utility in distinguishing the 2 groups of youth. Findings provide preliminary support for use of the IUSC for continuous measurement of children's ability to tolerate uncertainty.
Comer
Jonathan S
JS
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. comerj@childpsych.columbia.edu
Roy
Amy K
AK
Furr
Jami M
JM
Gotimer
Kristin
K
Beidas
Rinad S
RS
Dugas
Michel J
MJ
Kendall
Philip C
PC
D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty