The Roles of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Mindfulness in Psychological Distress: a Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a vulnerability factor that is believed to play a significant role in the development and maintenance of many affective disorders. Previous research indicated that the strength of the association between IU and psychological distress tend to change depending on certain trait characteristics. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether the interaction between IU and mindfulness will prospectively predict anxiety and depression measured five weeks later. The data were collected from 243 university students (129 female) between ages 18 and 29 at two different time points via questionnaires assessing intolerance of uncertainty, mindfulness, anxiety, and depression at time 1, followed by only measures of anxiety and depression at time 2. The results revealed that higher IU scores were associated with higher levels of depression for the participants who have low levels of mindfulness. A similar pattern was not observed for anxiety. The findings indicated that mindfulness prospectively predicts lower levels of depression only for the individuals who have lower levels of intolerance of uncertainty.