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Intolerance of Uncertainty, Fear of Anxiety, and Adolescent Worry

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Abstract

A 5 year, ten wave longitudinal study of 338 adolescents assessed the association between two forms of cognitive vulnerability (intolerance of uncertainty and fear of anxiety) and worry. Multilevel mediational analyses revealed a bidirectional and reciprocal relation between intolerance of uncertainty and worry in which change in one variable partially explained change in the other. Fear of anxiety and worry also showed evidence of a bidirectional relation, although change in fear of anxiety had a much weaker mediational effect on change in worry than vice versa. The findings show that relative to fear of anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty may play a greater role in the etiology of worry in adolescents.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FQRSC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The authors thank Marie-Anne Oligny for her help with the final stages of manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6

    Michel J. Dugas, Nina Laugesen & William M. Bukowski

  2. Clinique des troubles anxieux, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Michel J. Dugas

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  1. Michel J. Dugas
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  2. Nina Laugesen
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  3. William M. Bukowski
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Correspondence to Michel J. Dugas.

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Dugas, M.J., Laugesen, N. & Bukowski, W.M. Intolerance of Uncertainty, Fear of Anxiety, and Adolescent Worry. J Abnorm Child Psychol 40, 863–870 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9611-1

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