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A randomized Control Trial Examining the Initial Efficacy of an Intolerance of Uncertainty Focused Psychoeducation Intervention

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Abstract

Background and Objectives: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an important transdiagnostic risk factor for the development and maintenance of anxiety- and depression-related disorders. Although traditionally targeted within the context of cognitive behavioral treatments, no studies to date have examined the efficacy of IU specific interventions. To this end, the current study aimed to develop and test the initial efficacy of a brief, one-session computerized IU-focused psychoeducation intervention. Method: Student participants (N = 84) were randomly assigned to an active (IU-focused Psychoeducation) or control (Health-focused Psychoeducation) condition and assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, week 1, and week 4. Results: Path analytic modeling found the active condition (compared to the control) led to significant reductions in IU at week 4 follow-up. Mediation analyses revealed a statistically significant indirect effect of condition on change in anxiety and depression symptoms at week 4 via changes in IU. Limitations: Limitations include the use of self-report measures to assess all constructs of interest and a predominantly female sample, possibly limiting generalizability. Conclusions: The current study was the first to provide preliminary evidence that a brief, computerized IU treatment may be effective in reducing fears of uncertainty. This is important given the brevity of our intervention and the prevalence of anxiety and depression.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Mental Health (T32MH018869). This material is also the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in New Orleans, LA. The contents of this article do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. Amanda M. Raines is supported by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (Clinical Science Research and Development Service) under Career Development Award-2 IK2CX001978-02.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, 2400 Canal St., New Orleans, LA, USA

    Mary O. Shapiro & Amanda M. Raines

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Mary O. Shapiro

  3. South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), New Orleans, LA, 70119, USA

    Mary O. Shapiro & Amanda M. Raines

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Nicholas P. Allan

  5. School of Medicine, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Amanda M. Raines

  6. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Norman B. Schmidt

Authors
  1. Mary O. Shapiro
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  2. Nicholas P. Allan
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  3. Amanda M. Raines
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  4. Norman B. Schmidt
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the current manuscript. Study conception, design, data collection, and a draft of the manuscript was performed by Mary Shapiro. Nicholas Allan assisted with study design, data analysis, and the results section of the current manuscript. Amanda Raines assisted with writing the introduction, methods, and discussion section of the current manuscript. Norman Schmidt provided consultation on study design and analysis and reviewed and edited the entire manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary O. Shapiro.

Ethics declarations

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the current study.

Competing Interest

The authors have no competing interests or financial interests to disclose. The contents of this article do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. This trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT04199884).

Conflicts of Interest

Mary O. Shapiro, Nicholas P. Allan, Amanda M. Raines, and Norman B. Schmidt declare that there is no conflicts of interest.

Experiment Participants

The study was approved prior to study initiation by the Florida State University institutional review board (HSC No. 2017.21230). Further, the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Shapiro, M.O., Allan, N.P., Raines, A.M. et al. A randomized Control Trial Examining the Initial Efficacy of an Intolerance of Uncertainty Focused Psychoeducation Intervention. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 45, 379–390 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-022-10002-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-022-10002-y

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