Exploring pathways from intolerance of uncertainty to worry in adults with generalised anxiety disorder

Three decades of research indicate that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) plays a role in the maintenance of mental health conditions. In particular, the relationship between IU and worry is especially strong. The current study aimed to conduct a partial examination of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Model (IUM) of GAD as well as the Transdiagnostic Model of Intolerance of Uncertainty (TMIU), in a clinical sample of adults with GAD using path analysis. Participants with a primary diagnosis of GAD (N = 112) completed a range of measures that assessed IU, cognitive avoidance (CA), positive beliefs about worry (PBW), threat estimates, worry, and anxiety, with two path analysis models constructed for the IUM and TMIU. In a preliminary analysis of the IUM, path analysis found that CA and PBW did not have an indirect effect the relationship between IU and worry, however, CA (and not PBW) had an indirect effect on the relationship between IU and anxiety. For the TMIU, the first model demonstrated a poor fit. In an alternative model, threat estimates were found to indirect effect the relationship between IU and worry as well as anxiety. This suggests that threat appraisals do play a role in the relationship between IU, worry and anxiety in individuals with GAD.