Intolerance of uncertainty

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is broadly defined as a characteristic whereby individuals experience distress when faced with unpredictable situations (Buhr & Dugas 2002). For example instability in romantic relationships or fear about the future. IU has been implicated within a range of disorders for example generalised anxiety disorder, depression and more recently eating disorders (Mceovy et al., 2019). It has been suggested that people may perform disordered eating behaviours such as excessive exercise and food restriction to combat feelings of anxiety that emerge in relation to uncertain situations (Levinson & williams, 2020). This can be uncertainty related to weight and calories or related to more general uncertainties such as worrying about future employment.

What is Holly interested in?

How does Intolerance of Uncertainty develop? How is it implicated across different stages of an eating disorder such as relapse or development? How is it related to catastrophizing (worst-case-scenario thinking)? How can we measure intolerance to uncertainty behaviourally to get a better understanding of how it operates in everyday life?