Trait and Situation-Specific Intolerance of Uncertainty as Predictors of Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, a high-uncertainty situation, presents an ideal opportunity to examine how trait intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and situation-specific IU relate to each other and to mental health outcomes. The current longitudinal study examined the measurement of trait and COVID-specific IU, and their unique associations with general distress (anxiety and depression) and pandemic-specific concerns (pandemic stress and vaccine worry). A community sample of Florida adults (N=2152) were surveyed online at three timepoints. They completed measures of trait IU at Wave 1 (April-May 2020) and COVID-specific IU at Wave 2 (May-June 2020). At Wave 3 (December-February 2021), they reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, pandemic stress, and vaccine worry. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure of trait IU but a one-factor structure for COVID-specific IU. COVID-specific IU fully mediated the relation between trait IU and all symptom measures. Results suggest that COVID-specific IU predicts mental health outcomes over and above trait IU. These findings indicate that uncertainty may be more aversive when it is related to specific distressing situations, providing guidance for developing more specific and individualized interventions.