Background

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic construct that is implicated in psychological difficulties, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and eating disorders (ED). However, most studies exploring IU have been correlational in nature. This study examined (1) whether a linguistic manipulation of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) would successfully manipulate IU in an undergraduate sample, (2) whether experimentally increased or decreased levels of IU affect symptoms of MDD, GAD, OCD and ED, and (3) whether increased baseline symptom severity influences the magnitude of change in symptom severity post-manipulation.

Methods

A linguistic manipulation of the IUS was used to manipulate participants’ beliefs about their ability to tolerate uncertainty. N = 106 undergraduate participants were randomised to one of two conditions: high IU (HIU; n = 54) or low IU (LIU; n = 52), and completed measures on symptom severity at baseline and one-week follow-up.

Results

The manipulation successfully reduced IU in LIU. Participants in this group did not experience significant changes in symptom severity post-manipulation. However, individuals with higher baseline OCD in LIU demonstrated greater decreases in post-manipulation OCD symptoms, compared with individuals in HIU.

Limitations

Only the LIU manipulation was effective, limiting the findings from the HIU. The one-week follow-up and relatively small sample size of predominantly female undergraduate students may dilute and limit the generalisability of results. Conclusion: Findings support the utility of this manipulation in reducing IU, and the significance of different levels of IU in OCD.

中文翻译：

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不确定性不耐受及其对亚临床精神病理学影响的实验研究

背景

不确定性不耐受 (IU) 是一种跨诊断结构，与心理困难有关，包括重度抑郁症 (MDD)、广泛性焦虑症 (GAD)、强迫症 (OCD) 和进食障碍 (ED)。然而，大多数探索 IU 的研究本质上都是相关的。本研究检查 (1) 对不确定性不耐受量表 (IUS) 的语言操作是否会成功地在本科样本中操作 IU，(2) 实验性增加或减少 IU 水平是否会影响 MDD、GAD、OCD 和 ED 的症状， (3) 基线症状严重程度的增加是否会影响操作后症状严重程度的变化幅度。

方法

IUS 的语言操纵被用来操纵参与者对他们容忍不确定性的能力的信念。N  = 106 名本科生参与者被随机分配到以下两种情况之一：高 IU（HIU；n  = 54）或低 IU（LIU；n  = 52），并在基线和一周的随访中完成了症状严重程度的测量。

结果

该操作成功地减少了 LIU 中的 IU。该组的参与者在操作后没有经历症状严重程度的显着变化。然而，与 HIU 中的个体相比，LIU 中具有较高基线 OCD 的个体在操作后 OCD 症状方面表现出更大的减少。

限制

只有 LIU 操作是有效的，限制了 HIU 的发现。以女性本科生为主的为期一周的随访和相对较小的样本量可能会稀释和限制结果的普遍性。结论：研究结果支持这种操作在减少 IU 方面的效用，以及不同水平 IU 在强迫症中的意义。