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Symposia

Transdiagnostic

Pursuing the Unknown: Novel Insights for Measuring, Treating, and Understanding Intolerance of Uncertainty Across Transdiagnostic Samples

5 - (SYM 46) Exploring the Intersection of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Eating Disorders Through Behavioral Measures and Food Consumption

Friday, November 15, 2024
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Location: Congress C, Fourth Floor, Loews Hotel
Abstract Body


Background: Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has been proposed as a transdiagnostic factor underlying eating disorders (EDs) and is associated with more severe psychopathology and impairments in aspects of executive functioning such as emotion regulation and cognitive flexibility. The Just in Time Beads Task is a validated measure of behavioral responses to situations of uncertainty in those with anxiety disorders. The current study seeks to contribute to the growing literature around IU and EDs by validating the Beads Task as a behavioral measure of IU in EDs. We also examine the impact of a food manipulation task designed to create an uncertain situation around food consumption.

Methods: Participants are being recruited from a midsized public university in the northeast to complete a battery of measures, including a screening questionnaire for ED symptoms (BASE-10 score ≥ 10) that places participants in either an elevated ED concerns group or a non-ED group. BMI is assessed in the lab. Participants then complete a battery of self-report questionnaires designed to measure eating and body image concerns, IU, cognitive flexibility, and mood symptoms, followed by the Just in Time Beads Task. Lastly, participants are told they are randomized to receive a “high calorically dense” or a “low calorie” shake but are unable to know the condition they have been randomized to receive to induce uncertainty. Participants are given the shake and asked to drink as much as they would like during a 5-minute period. Currently 29 participants have completed all tasks (nED=8; nnon-ED=21), we anticipate presenting updated results for 25 participants in each group.

Results: Preliminary results indicate that there are no group differences in BMI (p=.56) and grams consumed of the shake (p=.65). The elevated ED concerns group had a significantly higher BASE score than the non-ED group (p< .001). The ED concerns group did not significantly differ from the non-ED group on the IUS-27 (M=76.0, SD=28.2; p=.14). IUS-27 scores were significantly and positively correlated with BASE-10 scores (r=.46, p=.01).
Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate that ED symptoms are positively correlated with IU but in this preliminary sample those with ED concerns do not differ from non-ED controls on food consumed under uncertain conditions. Further analyses with a larger sample will serve to validate the Beads Task as a behavioral measure of uncertainty and provide greater insight into the impact of IU across multiple measurement domains.