Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Psychology
First Advisor
Laura J. Dixon
Second Advisor
John Young
Third Advisor
Kristin Austin
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Research in clinical psychology over the last 40 years has solidified intolerance of uncertainty (IU) as an important transdiagnostic etiological and maintenance factor of affective psychopathology. Theoretically, IU is the dispositional cognitive tendency underlying anxiety related avoidance behaviors, such as worry, checking, and hypervigilance which lead to increased functional impairment. IU is associated with increased severity of numerous psychological concerns including anxiety, depression, and other commonly comorbid conditions. Further, higher levels of IU are found in clinical than non-clinical samples, emphasizing its role in mental health outcomes. However, behavioral paradigms used to differentiate between individuals of different diagnostic groups or levels of self-reported IU have thus far failed to demonstrate expected performance-related outcomes. The literature has revealed several ways in which behavioral measures of IU might be improved; accordingly, the current study aimed to evaluate the validity of a novel behavioral task for the measurement of IU by developing and administering the Ambiguous Approach Index (AAI) and comparing results to convergent and divergent measures of affective psychopathology. Results are consistent with previous research in that self-reported IU was significantly positively associated with related affective constructs (e.g., worry, obsessive-compulsive cognitions, depression) and that individuals with higher IU scored significantly higher on these constructs. AAI scores were not associated with self-reported IU or related constructs, and were not predictive of IU status or construct scores. Implications and future directions for clinical research in the development of a behavioral measure of IU are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Clark, Heather, "On developing a behavioral paradigm to measure intolerance of uncertainty: the Ambiguous Approach Index" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3261.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3261