title: Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Temporary Experimental Induction Procedure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a trans-diagnostic construct involved in anxiety and related disorders. Research focused on cross-sectional reporting, manipulating attitudes toward objective and impersonal events or on treatments designed to reduce IU in clinical populations. The current paper presents an experimental procedure for laboratory manipulations of IU and tests mediation hypotheses following the Intolerance of Uncertainty Model.
  
  
  METHODS
  On pre-test, undergraduate volunteers (Study 1, n = 43;68% women. Study 2, n = 169;83.8% women) were asked to provide an idiosyncratic future negative life event. State-IU, Worry, Positive and Negative Affect were assessed after that a standardized procedure was used to identify event's potential negative consequences. The same variables were assessed on post-test, after that participants were asked to read-through increasing and decreasing IU statements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Temporary changes on IU were consistently reproduced in both studies. Participants receiving increasing IU instructions reported greater state-IU, Worry and Negative Affect than those receiving decreasing IU instructions. However, this latter condition was not different from a control one (Study 2). Both studies revealed significant indirect effects of IU induction instructions on Worry and Negative Affect through state-IU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both studies used undergraduate psychology students samples, younger than average population and predominantly female. Experimental manipulation and outcome measures belongs to the same semantic domain, uncertainty, potentially limiting generalizability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results supported the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed IU manipulation for non-clinical sample. Findings parallel clinical research showing that state-IU preceded Worry and Negative Affect states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Oriana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lauriola
authors.affiliation: The Anxiety and Illness Behaviour Laboratory, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: R Nicholas
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Carleton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty