Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is considered as a specific risk factor in the development and maintenance of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Yet, researches have investigated the relations between IU and GAD (or worry) using total scores on self-report measures. This ignores that there are different components exist in IU and the heterogeneity of GAD symptoms. In the present study, we explored the relations among different components of IU and symptoms of GAD. A dimensional approach which take individual differences into consideration in different components of IU along a full range of normal to abnormal symptom severity levels of GAD were used in this study. Components of IU were measured by 12-item Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and symptoms of GAD were measured by Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Questionnaire. Regularized partial-correlation network was estimated using cross-sectional data from 624 university students. Four strongest edges are between components of IU, like “Unforeseen events upset me greatly” and “It frustrates me not having all the information I need”. Two strongest edges are between symptoms of GAD, like “Being so restless that it is hard to sit still” and “Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen”. Symptom “Worrying too much about different things” and component “It frustrates me not having all the information I need” have the highest expected influences in the present network. In the community of IU, component “It frustrates me not having all the information I need” has the highest bridge expected influence. And in the community of GAD, symptoms “Worrying too much about different things” and “Not being able to stop or control worrying” have the highest bridge expected influence. This study reveals potential pathways between different components of IU and various symptoms of GAD. Understanding how putative risk factors such as different components of IU are related to symptoms of GAD may provide some references for related preventions and interventions, such as targeting component “It frustrates me not having all the information I need” may be more effective at reducing symptoms of GAD than targeting other components of IU.

中文翻译：

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不确定性不耐受的不同成分与广泛性焦虑症症状之间的关系：网络分析

不确定性不耐受 (IU) 被认为是广泛性焦虑症 (GAD) 发展和维持的特定风险因素。然而，研究已经使用自我报告测量的总分调查了 IU 和 GAD（或担心）之间的关系。这忽略了 IU 中存在不同的成分以及 GAD 症状的异质性。在本研究中，我们探讨了 IU 不同成分与 GAD 症状之间的关系。本研究使用了一种维度方法，该方法考虑了 IU 不同成分的个体差异，包括 GAD 正常到异常症状严重程度的全范围。IU 的组成部分通过 12 项不确定性不耐受量表测量，GAD 的症状通过广泛性焦虑症 7 项问卷测量。使用来自 624 名大学生的横截面数据估计正则化偏相关网络。IU 的组成部分之间有四个最强的边缘，比如“不可预见的事件让我非常不安”和“它让我感到沮丧，没有我需要的所有信息”。GAD 的症状之间有两个最强烈的边缘，例如“焦躁不安，难以静下心来”和“感到害怕，好像可能会发生可怕的事情”。症状“对不同的事情担心太多”和组件“没有我需要的所有信息让我感到沮丧”在当前网络中具有最高的预期影响。在 IU 社区中，“没有我需要的所有信息让我感到沮丧”的组件具有最高的桥梁预期影响力。在 GAD 社区中，症状“对不同的事情担心太多”和“无法停止或控制担心”具有最高的桥梁预期影响。这项研究揭示了 IU 不同成分与 GAD 各种症状之间的潜在途径。了解 IU 的不同组成部分等推定的风险因素如何与 GAD 的症状相关，可以为相关的预防和干预措施提供一些参考，例如针对组件“没有我需要的所有信息让我感到沮丧”可能更有效地减轻症状GAD 的目标，而不是针对 IU 的其他组成部分。