The assessment of Intolerance of uncertainty in youth: An examination of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised in Italian nonclinical boys and girls

Abstract

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic factor involved in several psychological disorders. Adolescence is characterized by elevated uncertainty and psychopathological vulnerability, but insufficient attention has been paid to IU at this age. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised (IUS-R) in Italian preadolescents and adolescents. 862 Italian students (57.3% girls) aged 11–17 (M = 14.8 ± 1.91) completed the IUS-R and measures of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and psychological well-being. To test the factor structure of the IUS-R, one-factor, two-factor, and bifactor models were compared; measurement invariance, reliability, and validity were also addressed. Results showed that the bifactor model outperformed alternative factor models, and a general factor was needed to model the IUS-R. Bifactor model indices supported using the total score to assess IU reliably. Configural and metric invariance by age and sex were fully supported, while the IUS-R achieved partial scalar invariance. Significant correlations emerged for the IUS-R total score with psychopathological constructs, while no relationships with psychological well-being were found. Compared to adult normative data, higher total IUS-R scores were detected, suggesting that IU may be a phase-specific characteristic of adolescence. Our findings support using the IUS-R to measure IU across the lifespan. The recommended use of the total score and its associations with psychopathological dimensions highlight the transdiagnostic nature of IU in adolescence. Therefore, including IU when implementing interventions to prevent maladaptive outcomes in teenagers would be beneficial.

The Trap of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Italian Adolescents Fare Well at First, Maybe Thanks to Protective Trait Expression

“…This result is particularly interesting when examined in light of existing literature highlighting the markedly stable nature of these two cognitive components [27,44]. However, it aligns with those studies showing that both Positivity and IU trait expressions are influenced by situational demands [41,42,76].…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed youth to a radical change in environment, involving social isolation and pervasive uncertainty [ 4 ]. This picture is further worsened by the fact that adolescence is per se characterized by elevated uncertainty [ 27 ] and a heightened vulnerability to psychopathology [ 14 ]. However, no research has examined IU and psychopathology in Italian adolescents during the pandemic yet; hence the need for works investigating this topic.…”

“…The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised (IUS-R; [ 27 ]) is a 12-item self-report questionnaire assessing the disposition not to tolerate the aversive reactions elicited by uncertainty. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all like me, 5 = Entirely like me).…”

“…To date, few studies have investigated IU in adolescent samples, although this developmental stage seems per se characterized by elevated uncertainty, thus exposing teenagers to a higher risk of developing psychopathological symptoms [ 27 ]. Some studies have uncovered the role played by IU in several disorders in adolescence [ 14 ], although research in this field is still in its infancy.…”

“…Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet examined IU in an adolescent sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the established and strong link between IU and anxiety and depressive symptoms [ 23 ], an important step is to investigate its role in adolescence during the COVID-19 pandemic, in light of the aforementioned factors: pandemics in general are ridden with uncertainty [ 30 ], adolescence is itself characterized by elevated uncertainty [ 27 ], and internalizing problems often emerge in adolescence [ 14 ]. Furthermore, no study has yet investigated the relationship between IU and Positivity in affecting internalizing symptoms during any time.…”