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Intolerance of Uncertainty and Social Anxiety while Utilizing a Hybrid Approach to Symptom Assessment

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Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a dispositional characteristic wherein individuals interpret uncertainty in a negative fashion. No research has investigated the relationship between the IU subfactors, inhibitory (IU-I) and prospective (IU-P) IU, and symptoms of social anxiety disorder while utilizing a hybrid approach of symptom assessment. The current study examined the associations between IU-I and IU-P and social anxiety while utilizing a hybrid index of social anxiety, the Multidimensional Assessment of Social Anxiety (MASA). Participants (N = 684) were recruited from an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Baseline anxiety was included as a covariate for all analyses. Results found that both IU subscales were significantly associated with the MASA anhedonia and physiological arousal and avoidance subfactors. IU-I displayed specificity with the MASA functional impairment, coping with substances, and behavioral avoidance subscales. IU-P was associated with the MASA thought avoidance subfactor at trend level, whereas IU-I was not. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

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Funding

This study is partially supported by Department of Veteran Affairs Clinical Sciences Research and Development Career Development Award CX000845 (PI: Gros).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mental Health Service, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 109 Bee Street, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA

    Mary O. Shapiro & Daniel F. Gros

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Mary O. Shapiro & Daniel F. Gros

  3. Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Randi E. McCabe

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Randi E. McCabe

Authors
  1. Mary O. Shapiro
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  2. Daniel F. Gros
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  3. Randi E. McCabe
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Correspondence to Mary O. Shapiro.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research was approved by the institutions’ human subject review board and all participants provided informed consent (a statement regarding this can be found in the manuscript).

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. There are no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Shapiro, M.O., Gros, D.F. & McCabe, R.E. Intolerance of Uncertainty and Social Anxiety while Utilizing a Hybrid Approach to Symptom Assessment. J Cogn Ther 13, 189–202 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-020-00068-5

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