Boelen, P. A., & R. Nicholas Carleton (2012). Intolerance of uncertainty, hypochondriacal concerns, obsessive compulsive symptoms, and worry. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 200, 208-213.

Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been found to be involved in several anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Few studies have examined the role of IU in health anxiety/hypochondriacal concerns (HA/HC). We conducted two studies exploring the associations between IU and HA/HC. The first study included undergraduates (n = 114) and indicated an association between IU and several HA/HC indices. When controlling for neuroticism, Worry about Illness was the single index of HA/HC that remained associated with IU. In the second study among bereaved adults (n = 126), IU was associated with one index of HA/HC, but not when neuroticism and anxiety sensitivity were controlled. In both studies, IU was found to be more strongly associated with OCD symptoms and worry than with HA/HC.