(PS8-B39) Examining the Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Body Checking Safety Behaviors

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), or negative beliefs about and reactions to uncertain situations, has emerged as an important transdiagnostic risk factor across a range of psychological disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Recent research suggests that IU also plays a role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. In addition to IU, body checking (BC), which refers to body-directed safety behaviors such as pinching body fat or repeatedly trying on certain clothing items to make sure they still fit, has been identified as a critical risk factor in eating pathology. Furthermore, BC is intended to reduce anxiety about weight and shape temporarily; however, BC reinforces anxiety about weight and shape in the long-term. IU has been associated with generic safety behaviors such as excessive reassurance seeking and checking behaviors. Thus, it is possible that IU may be a risk factor for BC, but no research has examined the relationship between IU and BC. This study sought to examine if a relationship between IU and BC existed.  It was hypothesized (1) that there would be a positive correlation between IU and BC and (2) that IU would demonstrate a unique association with BC after controlling for gender, age, and BMI. Participants were undergraduate students (N = 404) with a mean age of 19.19 (SD = 1.53) and mean BMI of 24.37 (SD = 4.96). The sample was predominately female (58.2%) and White (47.3%). Participants completed online questionnaires including the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale – Short Form (IUS-12) and the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ). Correlation analysis indicated that IU was positively related to BC, r (361) = .51, p < .001. In addition, linear regression analysis demonstrated that after controlling for gender, age, and BMI, IU was uniquely associated with BC (b = .462, p < .001). The full model accounted for 36% of the variance in BC F(4,348)=50.56, p < .001, Furthermore, IU accounted for a significant portion of the variance in the model, contributing an additional 21% of the variance. Taken together, these results provide evidence that support a relationship between IU and BC safety behaviors. Given that BC may serve to maintain disordered eating by reinforcing anxiety regarding shape and weight, these results suggest the importance of specifically targeting both IU and BC in eating disorder treatment. Future longitudinal research is needed to determine causal relationships between IU, BC, and eating pathology. It may be that IU increases risk for BC; however, it is also possible that BC is a behavioral mechanism that amplifies IU over time.