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An examination of distress tolerance, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty in adults in routine psychiatric care

Probert-Lindström, Sara LU orcid and Perrin, Sean LU orcid (2023) In Acta Psychologica 235. p.1-9
Abstract
Aim
A person's ability to tolerate negative emotional states (Distress Tolerance - DT), uncertainty in their everyday lives (Intolerance of Uncertainty - IU), and a tendency to appraise their own feelings of anxiety as harmful (Anxiety Sensitivity - AS) have all been identified as vulnerability factors for anxiety and depressive disorders. However, the relationship between these variables and broader aspects of psychiatric symptom severity in participants recruited from routine care remains unclear.

Method
The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), Anxiety Sensitivity Scale-3 (ASI-3), and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form (IUS-12) were administered to 91 patients receiving treatment at the Lund Outpatient Psychiatric... (More)
Aim
A person's ability to tolerate negative emotional states (Distress Tolerance - DT), uncertainty in their everyday lives (Intolerance of Uncertainty - IU), and a tendency to appraise their own feelings of anxiety as harmful (Anxiety Sensitivity - AS) have all been identified as vulnerability factors for anxiety and depressive disorders. However, the relationship between these variables and broader aspects of psychiatric symptom severity in participants recruited from routine care remains unclear.

Method
The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), Anxiety Sensitivity Scale-3 (ASI-3), and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form (IUS-12) were administered to 91 patients receiving treatment at the Lund Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic. Data was collected from their medical records about their psychiatric history and scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The relationship between total scores on the DTS, ASI-3, IUS-12 and BSI were evaluated via correlations and regression analyses.

Results
DTS, ASI-3, and IUS-12 total scores correlated in the moderate to large range, and consistent with previous literature, were moderately to strongly correlated with the severity of self-reported depression, anxiety and overall symptoms (BSI). Regression analyses indicated that together, scores on the DTS, ASI-3 and IUS-12 explained moderate levels of variance in BSI symptom scores, with DTS scores showing the strongest associations. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to examine the construct and criterion validity of the three scales. Further validation of these Swedish-language are also warranted. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Anxiety, Distress, Uncertainty, Psychiatric care
in
Acta Psychologica
volume
235
article number
103902
pages
1 - 9
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85151309413
  • pmid:37004421
ISSN
1873-6297
DOI
10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103902
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
fddd5aaf-560a-48c5-b2a9-0a0e3a81d29b
date added to LUP
2023-04-01 09:27:57
date last changed
2023-07-02 03:00:03
@article{fddd5aaf-560a-48c5-b2a9-0a0e3a81d29b,
  abstract     = {{Aim<br/>A person's ability to tolerate negative emotional states (Distress Tolerance - DT), uncertainty in their everyday lives (Intolerance of Uncertainty - IU), and a tendency to appraise their own feelings of anxiety as harmful (Anxiety Sensitivity - AS) have all been identified as vulnerability factors for anxiety and depressive disorders. However, the relationship between these variables and broader aspects of psychiatric symptom severity in participants recruited from routine care remains unclear.<br/><br/>Method<br/>The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), Anxiety Sensitivity Scale-3 (ASI-3), and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form (IUS-12) were administered to 91 patients receiving treatment at the Lund Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic. Data was collected from their medical records about their psychiatric history and scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The relationship between total scores on the DTS, ASI-3, IUS-12 and BSI were evaluated via correlations and regression analyses.<br/><br/>Results<br/>DTS, ASI-3, and IUS-12 total scores correlated in the moderate to large range, and consistent with previous literature, were moderately to strongly correlated with the severity of self-reported depression, anxiety and overall symptoms (BSI). Regression analyses indicated that together, scores on the DTS, ASI-3 and IUS-12 explained moderate levels of variance in BSI symptom scores, with DTS scores showing the strongest associations. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to examine the construct and criterion validity of the three scales. Further validation of these Swedish-language are also warranted.}},
  author       = {{Probert-Lindström, Sara and Perrin, Sean}},
  issn         = {{1873-6297}},
  keywords     = {{Anxiety; Distress; Uncertainty; Psychiatric care}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  pages        = {{1--9}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Acta Psychologica}},
  title        = {{An examination of distress tolerance, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty in adults in routine psychiatric care}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103902}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103902}},
  volume       = {{235}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}