Intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, health anxiety, and anxiety disorder symptoms in youth.
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) - difficulty coping with uncertainty and its implications - is traditionally studied in adult populations, but more recently has been explored in children and adolescents. To date, the association between IU and health anxiety has not been explored in a child or adolescent sample. Further, it is unknown whether the relationship between IU and health anxiety may be mediated by anxiety sensitivity (i.e., fear of anxiety-related sensations) in this population. We sought to extend the existing research and expand our understanding of IU as a transdiagnostic construct by exploring the association between IU and health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and DSM-IV anxiety disorder symptom categories in 128 youth (M age=12.7years, SD=0.82, range 11-17 years). Participants completed measures of IU, health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and anxiety disorder symptom categories. Results demonstrated significant positive associations between IU and all measures. Mediation analyses supported the direct and indirect importance of each IU subscale on health anxiety. Future directions and implications are discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, Canada. Electronic address: kristi.wright@uregina.ca.
Kristi D
KD
Wright
Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Megan A N Adams
MA
Lebell
Department of Psychology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, Canada.
R Nicholas
RN
Carleton
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D035501:Uncertainty