Intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation: A meta-analytic and systematic review

A. Sahib*, J. Chen, D. Cárdenas, A. L. Calear

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty, a transdiagnostic factor manifested across emotional disorders, has been associated with difficulties in regulating emotions. This meta-analysis addresses the lack of synthesis of this relationship. PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest were systematically searched for relevant articles published up to and during November 2022. We combined 161 effect sizes from 91 studies (N = 30,239), separating the analysis into maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies and their association with intolerance of uncertainty. We found a moderate positive relationship between maladaptive, and a moderate inverse relationship between adaptive emotion regulation and intolerance of uncertainty. Analysing the magnitude of relationships revealed that cognitive avoidance and mindfulness were the maladaptive and adaptive strategies respectively which had the largest effect sizes and thus strongest relationships with intolerance of uncertainty. Combining all strategies, cognitive avoidance remained the largest effect size, while expressive suppression had the smallest effect size and was non-significant in its relationship. Further analyses testing study sample, design, and age as moderators found no significant moderator for the relationships between intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation strategies. These findings have implications for future intolerance of uncertainty interventions, with emotion regulation as a potential target of change.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102270
JournalClinical Psychology Review
Volume101
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation: A meta-analytic and systematic review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this