What is the internal structure of intolerance of uncertainty? A network analysis approach

•Feeling a general internal uncertainty aversion is a central element of IU.•The belief that things have to be planned in advance is central in the network.•Uncertainty-related beliefs, emotions, and behaviors constitute three communities.•The network of IU is highly similar across life stages. Into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of anxiety disorders 2020-10, Vol.75, p.102293-102293, Article 102293
Main Authors: Bottesi, Gioia, Marchetti, Igor, Sica, Claudio, Ghisi, Marta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Emotions
Humans
Intolerance of uncertainty
Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale
Mental Disorders
Network analysis
Non-clinical samples
Students
Uncertainty
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Summary:•Feeling a general internal uncertainty aversion is a central element of IU.•The belief that things have to be planned in advance is central in the network.•Uncertainty-related beliefs, emotions, and behaviors constitute three communities.•The network of IU is highly similar across life stages. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor spanning psychological disorders. Although IU has been extensively studied, its internal structure is still not fully understood. In the current study, we applied network analysis to investigate IU – as measured by the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised (IUS-R) - in two large non-clinical samples, consisting of undergraduates (N = 1172) and community individuals (N = 1759). Network analysis revealed that feeling a general internal uncertainty aversion and the belief that things have to be planned in advance are the most central nodes in both samples. Moreover, the community analysis revealed that, in both samples, the network of IU consists of three communities referring to negative beliefs about uncertainty, behavioral reactions to uncertainty, and emotional reactions to uncertainty. Lastly, the network was highly similar in undergraduates and community individuals in terms of network similarity, global connectivity, and structure and items mean levels; only minimal-to-negligible differences were found. The way current findings expand our knowledge of the internal structure of IU, along with theoretical and clinical implications, are discussed.
ISSN:0887-6185
1873-7897
DOI:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102293