An Examination of Intolerance of Uncertainty in Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is associated with multiple comorbidities and symptoms, suggestive of common transdiagnostic processes. Elevated intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is one such transdiagnostic process, but little research has been conducted on IU in schizophrenia.

This study assessed the associations between IU, schizophrenia diagnosis and schizophrenia symptoms using a between-group cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 113 participants, 72 people with a schizophrenia diagnosis and 41 control participants without (73 male, 40 female, age range 19-69 [M = 42.1, SD = 13.0]). Measures of schizophrenia symptoms, IU, depression and anxiety symptoms, rumination, executive functioning and rumination were taken.

Schizophrenia diagnosis was predicted by lower prospective IU and higher levels of inhibitory IU. Specifically, the prospective subscale was uniquely associated with general schizophrenia symptoms. Higher levels of positive symptoms were associated with higher prospective IU and lower inhibitory IU, however, not when anxiety and depressive symptoms, rumination and verbal fluency were controlled for. No unique associations were found with negative symptoms.

Different directions of association between the subtypes of IU and schizophrenia diagnosis as well as distinct relationships between IU and symptom subtypes suggest that prospective and inhibitory IU have distinct associations with the disorder.