title: Intolerance of uncertainty in body dysmorphic disorder.
abstract: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic construct associated with several anxiety and related disorders. Three studies were conducted to explore the potential relationship between IU and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Study 1 revealed a positive relationship between IU and BDD symptoms above symptoms of anxiety and depression in an unselected student sample (N=88). Study 2 demonstrated a similar relationship between IU and BDD symptoms above negative affectivity and intolerance of ambiguity in a community sample (N=116). Study 3 found that a clinical BDD sample (N=23) reported greater IU than healthy controls (N=20), though this relationship was accounted for by symptoms of anxiety and depression. Greater IU predicted functional impairment in the clinical sample above BDD symptoms and past-week anxiety and depression. The observed relationship between IU and BDD symptoms provides preliminary support for the relevance of IU to this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Berta J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Matheny
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Shivali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarawgi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA. Electronic address: cougle@psy.fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Jesse R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cougle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D035501:Uncertainty; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body dysmorphic disorder; Functional impairment; Intolerance of uncertainty