(PS9-A23) Evaluation of Uncertainty During COVID-19

Intolerance of Uncertainty, a key feature of worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), suggests that individuals with anxiety interpret uncertain or ambiguous situations as more stressful than non-anxious individuals. These biases may lead to deficits in several areas including cognitive deficits, decreased performance in school and work, and increased healthcare costs. However, little is known about the processing of uncertainty during times of worldwide crises, including a global pandemic. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have been faced with continued uncertainty due to things such as lost income, reduced access to resources, and significant concerns of health and safety. During this time, the population has likely experienced increased intolerance of uncertainty and associated distress. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS; Freeston et al. 1994) is a validated measure of attitudes towards uncertainty that has been validated for use within a clinical sample. Previous studies have found that the scale provides a measure of two factors: uncertainty has negative behavioral and self-referent implications and uncertainty is unfair and spoils everything. However, it is important to examine if these factors hold within a non-clinical population during a worldwide time of uncertainty. 

The mean age for the sample (N = 440) was 19.94 (SD = 3.26) and was primarily female (63%) and Caucasian (70.5%). The IUS is a 27-item measure with items rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the IUS, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal axis factoring was used. An oblique rotation was used as the items were expected to correlate. To determine items for extraction, parallel analysis and scree plot were used. Results suggested that two factors should be extracted. The 2-Factor IUS solution explained 52.61% of the variance. The first factor contained 19 items with substantial loadings whereas the second factor contained 7 items with substantial loadings. One item did not load onto either factor. The two factors demonstrated a strong correlation (r = 0.77, p < 0.01).

Both factors moderately correlated with related constructs (Factor 1: anxiety [r = 0.55, p < .001] and depression [r = 0.54, p < .001]; Factor 2 anxiety [r = 0.53, p < .001] and depression [r = 0.44, p < .001].

Overall, results provided additional support for a two-factor solution; however, item loadings in the current sample differ from previous studies. It is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacts on uncertainty beyond individuals with GAD. In sum, these data support the utility of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and support its use in assessing the impact of the pandemic on symptoms of anxiety and depression.