title: Intolerance of uncertainty as a predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms following a traumatic event.
abstract: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been associated with elevated post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the extant literature. However, no research to date has investigated whether pre-trauma IU predicts PTSS following trauma exposure. The current study prospectively examined the relationship between IU and PTSS within a sample of individuals with various levels of exposure to a university campus shooting. We hypothesized that pre-trauma IU would predict elevated PTSS following a campus shooting, even after covarying for anxiety sensitivity (AS), a known correlate of PTSS. Participants included undergraduates (n=77) who completed a self-report battery in Introductory Psychology. After a campus shooting, they were invited to complete measures of PTSD symptoms and level of exposure to the shooting. As anticipated, results revealed pre-trauma IU as a significant predictor of elevated PTSS following the campus shooting. These results remained significant after covarying for pre-trauma levels of AS. Our results are the first to demonstrate that elevated pre-trauma levels of IU predict later PTSS following exposure to a traumatic event. This finding is discussed in terms of promising directions for future research and treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, United States.
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Oglesby
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Boffa
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, United States.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, United States.
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Raines
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, United States. Electronic address: schmidt@psy.fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Norman B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D035501:Uncertainty; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Intolerance of uncertainty; PTSD; Risk factor; Trauma