(PS11-89) Pre-pandemic Intolerance of Uncertainty Predicted Increased Disengagement Coping and Internalizing Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is the tendency to experience uncertain or ambiguous events as negative, unacceptable, and threatening (Carleton, Sharpe, & Asmundson, 2007). IU includes two components: 1) prospective IU—distress about uncertainty and attempts to prevent uncertainty in the future; and 2) inhibitory IU—difficulties functioning effectively in the face of uncertainty. Intolerance of uncertainty may be a transdiagnostic factor that puts people at risk for the development of internalizing disorders like generalized anxiety disorder and depression. One possible mechanism linking IU and internalizing symptoms is problematic coping behaviors, as IU may undermine individuals’ capacity to cope with stress. Although previous studies have demonstrated that higher IU is concurrently associated with internalizing disorders, it is unclear whether IU predicts later disengagement/avoidant coping strategies, anxiety, and depression under especially stressful and uncertain circumstances. In the present longitudinal study, we examined whether college students’ pre-pandemic levels of IU predicted poor coping strategies and internalizing symptoms at two time points in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a highly stressful and uncertain situation. We hypothesized that pre-pandemic inhibitory IU in particular would predict both poor coping and internalizing symptoms during the pandemic.

In the present study, college students (N=173) completed a measure of IU in October 2019 or January 2020 (Time 1) and then were followed up in April/May 2020 (Time 2) and September 2020 (Time 3) with additional survey measures of IU, disengagement coping strategies (strategies that do not offer positive engagement with stressors), and internalizing symptoms. In terms of rank-order stability, participants were moderately to strongly stable in their reports of IU over the three time points; however, mean levels of IU modestly increased from pre-pandemic to Time 2 and then remained stable from Time 2 to Time 3. Disengagement coping and internalizing symptoms were highly stable from Time 2 to Time 3. Pre-pandemic IU predicted disengagement coping and internalizing symptoms at Times 2 and 3, with inhibitory IU acting as a stronger predictor. Finally, using regression analyses, we tested whether pre-pandemic IU predicted increases in disengagement coping and internalizing symptoms from Time 2 to Time 3. We found that both components of IU predicted an increase in disengagement coping strategies from Time 2 to Time 3, and inhibitory IU (but not prospective IU) predicted an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms from Time 2 to Time 3.

These results point to two key conclusions. First, IU increased after the start of the pandemic, although the increase was relatively modest. Second, pre-pandemic IU predicted increases in the use of negative coping strategies and internalizing symptoms over the course of the pandemic, and, as predicted, it was the inhibitory component of IU that was particularly predictive of these outcomes. These results indicate that IU may play an important role in shaping individuals’ capacities for coping effectively versus struggling during highly stressful and uncertain situations.